It was founded in 1189 by the Imperial Abbey of Corvey, initially in the village of Goddelsheim—which had belonged to Corvey since 888—but was moved as early as 1223 to Schaaken, a few hundred meters east of Goddelsheim. That same year, Pope Honorius III placed the monastery under his protection. The territory of what would later become the County of Waldeck had been under the ecclesiastical influence of Corvey since the early Middle Ages; through extensive donations and acquisitions, Corvey had become the largest landowner in the region and also held a dominant position in ecclesiastical matters. Corvey sought to consolidate and expand its position by founding settlements (such as Fürstenberg and Sachsenberg), building castles (Lichtenfels), and establishing monasteries (Schaaken).
The monastery existed until 1591. Thereafter, until 1848, it served as a Protestant, secular convent for female members of the nobility.