It was established between 1132 and 1133 by St. Otto of Bamberg, with monks from Ebrach Abbey settling under the first Abbot, Rapotho. This monastery became one of the wealthiest in Germany, holding extensive properties throughout Franconia, reaching as far as Regensburg and Württemberg. The substantial endowments primarily came from the Dukes of Abenberg and their descendants, the Hohenzollern Burgraves of Nuremberg. It served as the ancestral burial site for the Hohenzollern family, where ten burgraves of Nuremberg, five margraves, and three electors of Brandenburg, along with many other notable figures, were laid to rest.