Conrad of Thuringia donated the hospital to the Teutonic Knights in 1234, and the order built the church. The cornerstone was laid on August 14, 1235, and the church was consecrated in 1283, with the towers finished in 1340. The article names no architect. It is a sandstone hall church on a cruciform plan with a triconch east choir, called one of the earliest purely Gothic churches in German-speaking areas and a model for Cologne Cathedral. The nave vault is over 66 feet (20 m) high and the towers about 262 feet (80 m).
Protestant services began in 1539. It later served as a powder magazine and warehouse, and was restored in 1767 to 1770. A comprehensive interior renovation ran from 2021 to 2024.
It is a parish church of the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck. The shrine of Elizabeth is oak sheathed in gilded silver and copper.
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