Since the patron saint of the church was Saint Virgil, it could not have been consecrated before his canonization in 1233. Hartwig is named as its first provost in 1240. In the second half of the 13th century, the vice-cathedral office passed into the hands of the provosts. The provost's office was in possession of a library of European importance.
In 1309, the provost's office was destroyed by fire for the first time. The walls that are present today date from the reconstruction of the church. The provost's office was abandoned in 1606. After another fire in 1752, only the choir of the church was roofed in 1754. The church was deconsecrated in 1786. The final decay of the church began after the last fire in 1816. Although work had begun to secure the church ruins in 1894, the triumphal arch collapsed in 1926. In addition to the sparse remains of the provost's building in the south of the church, only the walls of the former three-bay choir with a 5/8 end remain. The walls are supported by double-stepped flying buttresses.