The Sant Esteve monastery, founded in 812, is one of the oldest Benedictine monasteries in Catalonia and the origin of the city of Banyoles. It was built on top of a late Roman temple, some of whose remains are still preserved in the subsoil. The earliest known documentary reference is a diploma issued by King Louis the Pious in 822, which granted immunity to the monastery and confirmed its ownership of the lake and its waters.

Throughout the Middle Ages and the Modern Era, the complex suffered a great deal of damage, as a result of which it had to reconstructed and refurbished on several occasions. This is why the current appearance of the monastery corresponds mostly to the neoclassical style (18th century). The last Benedictine monks of the monastery were permanently expelled in the wake of the expropriation of 1835.

The most outstanding buildings include the church, with its central nave and three apses, the bell tower crowned by a dome and the magnificent two-storey cloister.