St. John is situated in the early medieval triangle made up of Bavaria to the Northeast, Langobards to the South, and Franks to the Northwest. For the Bishop of Chur and the Carolingian empire the monastery was an important political, economical, and religious outpost. In the 11th and 12th century the monastery was converted to a nunnery. The convent was headed by an abbess until 1806, since then it has been headed by a prioress. To this day St. John of Muestair is an episcopal convent (Bishop of Chur).