SOS Children's Village: Hermann Gmeiner Street in Imst Renamed

The town of Imst in Tyrol has officially renamed Hermann-Gmeiner-Straße to "Am Sonnberg" after 18 municipal councilors voted in favor of the change. The decision, announced Wednesday, comes in the wake of abuse allegations against Hermann Gmeiner, the founder of SOS Children's Villages.

This is not the first time Gmeiner's name has been removed from public institutions in Imst. In mid-December 2025, the local elementary school and kindergarten also dropped his name. The new street name, "Am Sonnberg," was chosen through a community participation process, focusing on local or geographical references and deliberately avoiding personal names.

Mayor Stefan Weirather (ÖVP) explained the decision by stating that "we can never exclude with absolute certainty that problematic incidents from the past may become known for a person." The elementary school is now known as "Volksschule Sonnenberg," and the kindergarten is called "Integrationskindergarten Am Weinberg."

The renaming reflects a broader trend of reassessing Gmeiner's legacy. In Innsbruck, a Hermann-Gmeiner-Straße was also renamed "Josefine-Sölder-Straße" earlier this year. Furthermore, the Tyrolean regional government recently revoked the "Ring des Landes," the highest state award in Tyrol, from both Gmeiner and his successor, Helmut Kuttin. While Gmeiner is accused of sexually abusing approximately 16 individuals, Kuttin faces charges of failing to implement protective measures and misconduct.

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we can never exclude with absolute certainty that problematic incidents from the past may become known for a person