Stadttheater Grein

About the museum

The Old Town Hall on the Stadtplatz in Grein was built in 1563 as a council and trading house in the Renaissance style. Because the grain trade on the Danube required storage space, a granary was added at the rear, the so-called “Troadkostn”. Theatre-loving citizens set up a stage there in 1791; since then the building has been used for performances almost without interruption and is considered the oldest surviving civic theatre in Austria.

The small auditorium preserves numerous features from its early days: reserved seats that could be locked with a key, a toilet separated only by a curtain, the Napoleon box and the Gemeindekotter, a former detention cell directly next to the auditorium. The building belongs to the municipality of Grein and has also been shown as a sight for decades; it lies on the European Route of Historic Theatres.

During the general renovation in 2020/21 the building received a new staircase, a lift, a new foyer and modern stage technology. In July 2022 the newly designed city museum opened on the first floor: in the former council chamber it tells the history of the theatre from its founding to the Greiner Sommerspiele (Grein Summer Festival) and the re-founded Dilettantengesellschaft (amateur society), while a second room is devoted to Grein's development into a town of citizens and a summer resort. The costume and props collection can also be seen in the former Gemeindekotter.

Highlights

• Theatre auditorium of 1791 in the former granary
• Original lockable reserved seats and Napoleon box
• Gemeindekotter – detention cell directly next to the auditorium
• City museum on theatre and urban history (since 2022)
• Short guided tours without registration during the season

Permanent exhibitions

• Theatergeschichte im ehemaligen Ratssaal – Documents, posters and photos trace the performance history from the founding of the civic theatre to the Greiner Sommerspiele and today's Dilettantengesellschaft.
• Stadtgeschichte Grein – Selected exhibits from the municipal collections illuminate Grein's path from a Danube trading town to a town of citizens and a summer resort.

Operated by

Stadtgemeinde Grein

Admission & discounts

50% discount with the DONAU.Erlebnis.Card (Thursdays only).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The theatre is on the first floor (29 steps) and can be reached step-free with a wide lift. Accessible toilets in the Large Foyer and 30 m away at the lift of the New Town Hall. Disabled parking spaces on the Stadtplatz, in Rathausgasse and on the Donaulände.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The theatre is in the Old Town Hall directly on the Stadtplatz and can be reached by car via the B3. Coaches can drop off guests on the Stadtplatz.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Theatre buffet directly next to the New Foyer (accessible); public toilets in the Old Town Hall.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

The city theatre, the theatre cellar (up to 70 people, for parties, company events, seminars, concerts) or the entire Old Town Hall can be hired; enquiries to the cultural office of the municipality, catering via the theatre buffet.

Plan your visit