It was founded around 1220, and today it is the only surviving one of several Premonstratensian abbeys in Slovakia. The present building is a monument of Baroque art, constructed by A. Pilgram in the years 1765–66. It is square-shaped, with the church at its center. It possesses a valuable library.
During its period of prosperity, up to after the First World War, this monastery had under its jurisdiction several colleges (Košice, Rožňava, Nagyvárad, Gödöllő) and parishes. On 7 June 1922 the Holy See raised it to the status of an abbey nullius with 10 parishes. However, this apostolic constitution was not implemented due to opposition from the Czechoslovak government. In 1949, besides the central monastery, the abbey had 2 convents (Košice, Levoča) and administered 8 parishes. After the First World War it lost a large part of its property, and after the Second World War almost everything was confiscated. Indeed, within the monastery itself, the current government installed an agricultural school. In the present persecution of the Church in Czechoslovakia, the abbey of J. was designated, along with two other monasteries, to serve as the “concentration monastery” for religious, and on 14 April 1950 Premonstratensians, Jesuits, and other religious from Slovakia were gathered there.