The Dominican Monastery in Ptuj was established in 1230 by Methildis (†1253), the widow of Friedrich III of Ptuj, with the support of Archbishop of Salzburg Eberhard II. She donated the buildings, as well as money, to the monks, while the archbishop granted the order privileges that allowed the Dominicans to provide spiritual and social care to the community. The Lords of Ptuj gave the Dominicans, as well as Minorites, large properties in Haloze in the Jesenica and Podlehnik administrative unit, with a land court and all the associated revenue, tithes, socage, and wine tithes. The donations from rich noble families and townsmen allowed the monastery to become a prominent artistic and cultural complex, which is on par with important European cultural monuments today. The Dominican Monastery in Ptuj was constructed in Middle Ages in several phases, and Baroque elements were added at the turn of the 18th century. One of its most impressive features is the cloister, which was designed in early 13th century, while the mural paintings were added in the 14th century, and the vaults in the 15th.
The Dominican Monastery in Ptuj was closed in 1785, and finally dissolved in 1786 as part of the church reform under Joseph II, when it was transformed into an army hospital. The military used the complex until 1923, when it was nearly converted into a silk mill, which luckily fell through. In 1928 the municipality bought the buildings, turning them into a museum and apartments. The former Dominican Monastery was home to the Ptuj-Ormož Regional Museum and its archaeological department and collections, as well as Ptuj Historical Archives until 2011 and 2012.