The church was built on the Hellweg, a main Medieval road connecting the free imperial town Dortmund with others. Historians suspect that the visits of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and his son Henry VI to the Imperial Palace in Dortmund led to the construction of the Marienkirche.

It was erected between 1170 and 1200 to serve the town's council and jurisdiction. It is the oldest extant church in Dortmund's inner city. Around 1350, a choir in Gothic architecture was built. It served as a model for the Reinoldikirche, which was built opposite of the road.

The church was destroyed in World War II, but rebuilt.

The Gothic sandstone Madonna is dated to 1420. The seated Madonna shows remnants of its original polychrome painting. The Christ Child on Mary's lap is missing its head.