The Benedictine monastery was founded in 1072 on a site at the foot of the Wilzenberg mountain, by Saint Anno, Archbishop of Cologne, whose statue still stands at the west gate. The monastery was dedicated between 1079 and 1089. The original buildings burnt down in 1270. From 1729 the premises were gradually replaced by completely new buildings in the Rococo style; the rebuild was finished in 1742 and the new abbey church dedicated in 1747.