Grein

Grein, Upper Austria, town in the district of Perg, alt. 239 m, pop. 2,910, area 18.42 km², historical town situated at a bend of the River Danube, at the entrance of the Strudengau valley ("Greiner Struden"); ship landing stage. - District court, surveying office; Stillensteinklamm gorge on the River Gießenbach, 3 km to the north of Grein (parts of the gorge in the municipality of Grein, parts in St. Nikola an der Donau). Mainly processing and manufacturing industries: wood processing (furniture, fences), construction industry, printing works; trade in machinery, summer tourism (46,164 overnight stays). - First mentioned in 1147, town since 1491, in the Middle Ages trade in salt, wine and grain; Greinburg Castle (Upper Austrian Shipping Museum, Late Gothic building (1488-1493), tower entirely preserved, enlarged in 1621; sala terrena, Knight's hall, vaulted halls in the south wing; tower with gate, courtyard with arcades, chapel (altar from 1625). Late Gothic hall-church, Baroque alterations, altarpiece by B. Altomonte (1749); town hall (1562) with the oldest intact municipal theatre equipped with stalls ("Stadttheater", splendid example of Rococo style, 1791). July- August, summer festival.

Literature: Österr. Städtebuch, vol. I, Oberösterreich, 1968; L. Riegler and M. Lengauer (collection), Grein 1147-1900, 1988.