  (...) Since 1998, only half a dozen spectroscopically confirmed associations
have been discovered and XRF 100316D associated with the type-Ic SN 2010bh at z
= 0.059 is among the latest. We began observations with GROND 12 hours after
the GRB trigger and continued until 80 days after the burst. GROND provided
excellent photometric data in six filter bands covering a wavelength range from
approx. 350 to 1800 nm, significantly expanding the pre-existing data set for
this event. Combining GROND and Swift data, the early broad-band SED is
modelled with a blackbody and afterglow component attenuated by dust and gas
absorption. The best-fit SED models imply moderate reddening along the line of
sight through the host galaxy (A_V = 1.2 \pm 0.1 mag). The temperature and
radius evolution of the thermal component are analysed and combined with
earlier measurements available from the literature. This reveals a cooling
envelope at an apparent initial radius of 7 \times 10^11 cm, which is
compatible with a dense wind surrounding a Wolf-Rayet star. Multicolour
templates of SN 1998bw are fitted to the SN to directly compare the light-curve
properties. This shows that SN 2010bh is ~65% as bright as SN 1998bw. Reaching
maximum brightness at ~8 days after the burst in the blue bands, SN 2010bh
proves to be the most rapidly evolving GRB-SNe to date. Finally, a
two-component parametrised model is fitted to the quasi-bolometric light curve,
which delivers physical parameters of the explosion. This yields M_Ni = 0.21
\pm 0.03 M\bigodot and M_ej = 2.6 \pm 0.2 M\bigodot, typical of values within
the GRB-SN population. The kinetic energy is 2.4 \pm 0.7 \times 10^52 erg,
which is making this SN the second most energetic GRB-SN after SN 1998bw. This
supernova has one of the earliest peaks ever recorded and thereafter fades more
rapidly than other GRB-SNe, hypernovae, or typical type-Ic SNe. (...)
