The cloister was established by bishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau as a stronghold against the Reformation. In 1602, the friars consecrated the first church built on the foundation of a medieval tower. The church inherited a set of 15th century wooden reliefs. Gradually expanding, the cloister reached its present shape around 1690. For centuries, the friars were independent of the local archbishop, subordinate only to the Pope. In 1800 and 1809–10 the cloister was occupied and desecrated by the French troops; in 1813 by the Bavarians. After the "Anschluss" of 1938 the monks were evicted again, to make way for a Nazi forum, but the project did not materialize. The friars returned in 1942, initially sharing the premises with refugees and prisoners.