The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been founded by Saint Maximin of Trier in the 4th century.

Maximin (died 346) and other early bishops of Trier were buried in the crypt of the church on the site, an early Christian cemetery, and the church, at first dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, was later renamed after Maximin.

A Benedictine monastery was established here in the 6th century, possibly replacing an earlier community.

[2] Albero de Montreuil failed to subject the abbey to Trier's jurisdiction in the early 12th century, but the question of the abbey's Imperial immediacy (German: Reichsunmittelbarkeit) was for centuries a matter of conflict, contested by Trier, to whom in 1669 the abbot formally renounced all claim to the status, making submission to the archbishop in his capacity as Prince-elector.

The monastic buildings were put to various secular uses — barracks, prison, school — and were totally destroyed in World War II except for the freestanding gateway.