Bludenz is a town in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative seat of Bludenz District, which encompabes about half of the state's territory. The town is located on the Ill River, a direct tributary of the Rhine. It is surrounded by the ranges of the Bregenz Forest Mountains in the north, and by the Rätikon and Silvretta ranges in the south. Bludenz lies at the meeting point of five valleys: Walgau and Montafon, Brandnertal, Klostertal up to Arlberg Pab, and Grobes Walsertal.