Today, the former Franciscan monastery is one of the most outstanding medieval buildings in Thuringia. It was founded around 1250 by the Schwarzburg counts on the western edge of the city. The Franciscan monks were members of a mendicant order. Despite their poverty, they were popular with the citizens of Saalfeld.

During the Reformation, the Franciscan monastery was dissolved in 1534. The former monastery remained an educational institution until the end of the 19th century. From 1551 to 1735, a mint of the Dukes of Saxony was established in the former sacristy and in the west wing. Silver from the surrounding mountains could be minted here.

The monastery complex, built according to the strict building rules of the Franciscan order, still exists today in its entirety. The ensemble was completely renovated between 1990 and 2003. The cloisters and vaults of the former monastery are now home to one of the largest city history museums in the Free State of Thuringia, the Saalfeld City Museum, which was founded in 1904.