| Imst | |
| Native Name: | Imscht |
| Pushpin Map: | Austria |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 270 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Austria |
| Mapsize: | 260x260px |
| Coordinates: | 47.2394°N 10.7381°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Austria |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tyrol |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Imst |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Stefan Weirather |
| Elevation M: | 827 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Registration Plate: | IM |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 6460 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 05412 |
| Website: | www.imst.tirol.gv.at |
Imst (in German ɪmst/; Southern Bavarian: Imscht) is a town in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. It lies on the River Inn in western Tyrol, some 50km (30miles) west of Innsbruck and at an altitude of 828m (2,717feet) above sea level. With a current population (2018) of 10,504, Imst is the administrative centre of Imst District.
Licensed since 1282 to hold a regular market. Until 1918, the town (named earlier also JMST) was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the compromise of 1867), head of the district of the same name, one of the 21 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in the Tyrol province.[1]
Imst received full town rights in 1898.[2]
Every four years Imst hosts their Fasnacht, or carnival before Lent.[3] This carnival is listed by UNESCO as one of their Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage.[3] As part of Schemenlaufen pairs of men wear bells, tuned differently, while performing dances of jumps and bows. They are accompanied by masked characters imitating their dance.[3]
In 1958, the first artificially refrigerated luge track was completed at Imst.[4] The track was 1000.9 meters long with 17 turns and a vertical drop of 124.8 meters, giving the track an average grade of 12.48%.[4] No turn names were given for the track.
It hosted the FIL World Luge Championships in 1963 and 1978[5] and it hosted the FIL European Luge Championships in 1956, 1971, and 1974.[6]
In 1949 Hermann Gmeiner founded the first SOS Children's Village in the Sonnberg district of Imst. The SOS-Kinderdörfer organization now runs over 450 such villages worldwide.