Easter in Imst

The Imster Calvary rises between the famous Rosengarten Gorge and the Hachle Gorge. Its distinctive peak has been a place of worship since ancient times, and by the 5th century at the latest, there was a Christian church here. Today, the Laurentius chapel, a Romanesque hall church with frescoes from the late 14th century, stands on the foundations of an early Christian apse church. It is one of the oldest sacred buildings in Tyrol.

On Palm Sunday, it is customary in Imst for the entire church community to process over the Calvary. From St. John's Church, where the Malchbach and Schinderbach converge, the congregation pilgrimages along the Stations of the Cross over the Bergl to the Plague Chapel and to the parish church. This is not only about communal devotion and prayer, as this procession also includes a rather secular competition. Five groups of young men from the town compete to see who can carry the longest palm pole over the mountain and erect it in front of the parish church. Palm poles are long poles decorated with colorful ribbons, olive branches, flowers, and pretzels, and the Imst palm poles are probably the longest in the world: about 35 m long and weighing up to 300 kg. The current "record pole" dates from 2009 and measured a proud 36.5 m!

It is easy to imagine that erecting these long palm poles, made according to traditional specifications, requires a lot of strength, skill, and dexterity. The winners are then rewarded with sausages and lemonade at the inn. In front of the parish church's tower, the gigantic poles look even more impressive. It's no wonder that the longest palm poles are made in Imst, as they also have the tallest church tower in Tyrol at 87.5 m.

The Plague Chapel is adorned with the Holy Sepulchre during Holy Week: In the imaginative recreation of the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the body of Jesus is laid out and surrounded by colorful glass balls, goldfish, lights, and fountains. A mechanical device even creates "real" sweat drops on the face of Jesus.