Imst is a town in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. It lies on the River Inn in western Tyrol, some 50 kilometres west of Innsbruck and at an altitude of 828 metres above sea level. With a current population of 9,552, 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.
Imst received full town rights in 1898.
Every four years Imst hosts their Fasnacht, or carnival before Lent. This carnival is listed by UNESCO as one of their Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 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.
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