The abbey is the oldest nunnery of the Cistercian Order in Germany to have maintained unbroken occupation of its house since its foundation.

St. Marienthal is located to the south of Ostritz on the left bank of the Neisse, which at this point forms today's German border with Poland.

The abbey was founded in 1234 by Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen, daughter of Philip of Swabia and wife of Wenceslas I of Bohemia, near a trade route that ran from Prague to Görlitz via Zittau.

In 1945 the retreating German forces wanted to blow up the abbey to hinder the advance of the Russians, but the nuns refused to leave, and the building was spared.

The abbey survived the Communist East German régime and after 1989 spent large sums on restoration and developing the facilities.