Bludenz (; Alemannic: ''Bludaz'') is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the westernmost

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

. It is the administrative seat of the

Bludenz District The Bezirk Bludenz is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in Vorarlberg, Austria. Area of the district is 1,287.63 km², population is 61,407 (January 1, 2012), and population density 48 persons per km². Administrative center of the dist ...

, which encompasses about half of the Vorarlberg's territory.

Geography

The town is located on the

Ill ILL may refer to: * '' I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibra ...

River, a direct tributary of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. It is surrounded by the ranges of the

Bregenz Forest Mountains The Bregenz Forest Mountains, also the Bregenzerwald Mountains (german: Bregenzerwaldgebirge), are a range of the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps, named after the town of Bregenz. The Bregenz Forest Mountains are located entirely in the A ...

in the north, and by the

Rätikon The Rätikon is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps, located at the border between Vorarlberg, Liechtenstein and Graubünden. It is the geological border between the Eastern and Western Alps and stretches from the Montafon as far as ...

and

Silvretta The Silvretta Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps shared by Tirol, Vorarlberg (both in Austria) and Graubünden ( Switzerland). The Austrian states of Tirol and Vorarlberg are connected by a pass road ( Silvretta Hochalpenst ...

ranges in the south. Bludenz lies at the meeting point of five valleys: Walgau and

Montafon Montafon ( in local dialect: "''Muntafu''") is a 39 km long valley in the westernmost Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg. It is traversed by the river Ill (Vorarlberg) and extends from the city of Bludenz and the Verwall Alps in the nort ...

(Ill), Brandnertal, Klostertal up to

Arlberg Arlberg () is a massif between Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria. The highest peak is the Valluga at . The name ''Arlberg'' derives from the tradition of the "Arlenburg", who are said to have once established themselves on the Tyrolean side of the A ...

Pass, and Großes Walsertal. Bludenz is a popular starting point for hiking and mountain-biking in spring, summer, and autumn. It is located not far from many skiing resorts (e.g., Brand and Lech). Major companies are

Mondelēz International Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26 billion and operates in ...

(

Milka Milka is a brand of chocolate confectionery, originally made in Switzerland in 1901 by Suchard. It has then been produced in Lörrach, Germany for the past 100 years. Since 2012 it has been owned by US-based company Mondelez International, when ...

chocolate) and the Fohrenburg brewery which was established in 1881.

History

Archaeological finds indicate that settlement in the area of Bludenz began in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

, and continued throughout the La Tène era. In 600 BC there was a Roman military training ground. Bludenz itself was first mentioned in the year 830 CE in an

urbarium An urbarium (german: Urbar, English: ''urbarium'', also ''rental'' or ''rent-roll'', pl, urbarz, sk, urbár, hu, urbárium), is a register of fief ownership and includes the rights and benefits that the fief holder has over his serfs and peasant ...

of the

Raetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west ...

n estates within the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...

. The town was established by the comital Werdenberg dynasty;

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

were granted in 1274. A stay by the Habsburg Duke Frederick IV of

, who had just received an

imperial ban The imperial ban (german: Reichsacht) was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or t ...

at the Council of Constance, is documented from 30 March 1416. Four years later, Bludenz passed into the

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (german: Vorderösterreich, formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-wes ...

n possessions of the Habsburg dynasty. KlosterStPeter1

The Bludenz district headquarters are situated in the Castle of Gayenhofen, built in the 18th century.

Education

High schools in Blundenz include Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Bludenz.

Culture

The Alpinale Short Film Festival was founded in 1985 in Bludenz. In August, around 40 international short films are shown to a crowd of 1,000 visitors. Related events are the Alpinale Ländle Tour, the Vorarlberger Short Film Night, and the Horror Short Film Night in autumn. The festival has taken place in Bludenz from 1985 to 2002, and from 2020 onwards. Between 2003 and 2019, it was held in Nenzing. The Brewery Museum Fohrenburg displays the development of the Fohrenburg brewery and beer brewing in Bludenz in general. Historical photographs, old beer bottles and labels, earlier advertising motifs and equipment for beer production allow a look back at more than 130 years of Fohrenburg's brewing history. Bludenz-Muttersberg-Restaurant-Brandnertal-03ASD

Bludenz-Muttersberg-Restaurant-Brandnertal-03ASD

The Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik is an international contemporary music festival annually held in autumn/winter. Georg Friedrich Haas was the first artistic director, followed by Wolfram Schurig and Alexander Moosbrugger and the young Italian composer, Clara Iannotta, has been responsible for the program since 2014. Over the years, more than 100 world premieres have been performed in Bludenz.

Population

References

External links

Bludenz official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Bludenz District Vorarlberg