The priory certainly existed in 1183 since on that date a bull from Pope Calixtus II confirmed its possession. The canons from Chaumousey Abbey (order of Saint Augustine) built the building and occupied the premises, it seems, until 1781 when the priory became an important farm. During the Revolution, the buildings became national property.
Between 1809 and 1905, religious life reappeared with the creation of a small seminary then a school run by the congregation of the Brothers of Mary who were expelled after the law separating Church and State. The priory once again became an agricultural operation.
From 1970, the priory church, threatening to collapse, was saved by the Haute-Saône Departmental Council which became its owner. The convent buildings, rebuilt between 1520 and 1530 by the priors Jean and Hugues de la Palud, will remain private property and are not open to the public. However, the religious apartments and the location of the cloister are visible from the outside.

The Romanesque church, the only testimony to the Rhine influence from an architectural point of view in Franche-Comté, can be visited. This has retained, despite its mutilations, all the purity of its style. The bell tower located near the choir was raised in the 18th century. The nave, made up of eight bays, has cylindrical columns and square piers connected by semicircular arches, typical of Romanesque art. The capitals of the columns are topped with billets (Rhine influence). A magnificent framework in the shape of an upturned ship’s hull constitutes the vault. In the choir, there are several funerary steles, the oldest of which represents Isabeau de Mailley (+ 1253), wife of Aymon, lord of Faucogney and Villersexel.
The priory of Marast is a remarkable place with truly astonishing acoustics. Since 1991, the Association of Friends of the Priory has organized numerous events (concerts, shows, exhibitions, etc.) and free guided tours.