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Grünhain is situated at an altitude of 650 m in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) region of Saxony. The area was first mentioned as a settlement area around 1150. The earliest document mentioning Grünhain dates from 1233 and refers to the Cistercian monastery founded here by the burgrave of Meißen. The village itself was first mentioned as a little town in 1267. For three centuries, until its closure in 1536, the monastery was one of the reachest in the area. Since the early 19th century Grünhain became known as a spa place.

The Genesungsheim (convalescent home) [left] was founded in 1897 by the Medical Insurance Company of Chemnitz.

The composer and cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig, Johann Hermann SCHEIN (1586–1630), was born in Grünhain.