The Benedictine monastery was founded in 1136[2] by the brother of the Naumburg bishop Hildeward, Walther von Glisberg, whose gravestone is on display in the church.

It shows the imperial ministerial, who was propertied at the Kunitzburg in Jena, and his wife in the style of Romanesque depictions of persons.

[3] First in 1299, then again in 1472, the great Erfurt city fire destroyed parts of the church, which were subsequently rebuilt in Gothic forms, reusing some of the old stones which are still distinguishable today.

The most conspicuous sign from the time of reconstruction is the Late Gothic choir room with the sacristy.

Due to the constant rise in the level of the ground, which is typical of old cities, it is about one metre (3 ft 3 in) below the outer floor after 900 years, so that there are a few steps leading down into the church at the entrance.