The monastery was founded in 1263 by Přemysl Otakar II. as a sort of make-up weight of the monastery in Vyšší Brod.
Michal Parléř a brother of Petr Parléř (the builder of St. Vitus Cathedral) participated in the construction of the church.
During the Hussite wars the monastery was burned down and it was repaired only in the 17th century.
In 1785 the monastery was abolished and changed into a factory.
It was not until 1909 that a renovation of the monastery started. Now it houses a State Scientific Library.