Grein is a municipality in the district Perg in Upper Austria, Austria. It is right along the Danube River and the cycle track that runs along it.
One attraction in Grein is the Greinburg Castle, built between the years of 1488 - 1493. Also located in the city is the oldest theatre in all of Austria.
Under the later Reichsfreiherr (Baron whose title has been confirmed upon him by the German king) of Stettenberg and Earls of Hardegg, Heinrich and Siegmund Prüschenk, the Castle of Greinburg was erected between 1488 and 1493 as one of the first castles in the German- speaking region.
In 1533 the Imperial Counsel, Burgvogt (Governor of a castle) of Enns and Landvogt (Governor of a territory) of Swabia, Johann Leble (Löbl), acquired the Castle. Under Leble (Löbl) the building received most of its present- day form. In 1621 the Castle of Greinburg was sold to the Earl Leonhard Helfrich of Meggau, who carried out basic changes. A three storeyed, columned arcade became the main feature for the appearance of the inner courtyard. Furthermore, under Meggau the Sala terrena (so-called stone theatre) was installed. In 1625 the "Rittersaal", the Hall of Knights, and an adjoining chapel in the south west tower were redecorated. Anna of Meggau brought Castle and dominion of Grein into her marriage with her husband, Earl Ludwig Sigmund of Dietrichstein.
Since 1700 the owner of Greinburg was Earl Oktavian Karl of Carioni, who sold the Castle to Franz Ferdinand of Salburg and Prandegg in 1709.
In 1810 the family of Dietrichstein became once again the owners of Greinburg, however they sold the estate in 1811 to Josef Fink, the Mayor of Hainburg.
The Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha have been owners of the Castle only since 1822. In 1822 Duke Ernst III of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who in 1826 became Ernst I. of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, also acquired the dominions of Aich, Prandegg, Kreutzen, Ruttenstein and Zollhof together with the dominion of Grein. The son of Ernst I., Herzog Ernst II., was proprietor of the Castle of Greinburg from 1844 until 1893. After his death in 1893 Queen Victoria of England was also briefly the owner of Greinburg. Until this day the Castle has been inhabited by the ducal family. The Castle of Greinburg was chosen, for instance, by the Duchess Viktoria Adelheid as her summer residence. Her son, Prince Friedrich Josias, lived there permanently until his death.
The building, which comprises four wings, houses the Coburg Rooms, which are the official rooms of the ducal family, as well as the Upper Austrian shipping museum.
