Calendera

Calendar · 16 federal states

Public and school holidays in Germany

Germany has 9 public holidays everywhere. The rest change from one federal state to the next, and so do the school terms. Pick one to see its dates, the weekdays they fall on, and the bridge days around them.

Each state sets its public holidays in its own holiday act; only the Day of German Unity is fixed by federal law. Summer school holidays are staggered across states by the education ministers' conference, to spread traffic and accommodation demand.

Map of Germany — choose a region for its own dates Bavaria Lower Saxony North Rhine-Westphalia Baden-Württemberg Brandenburg Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Saxony-Anhalt Hesse Rhineland-Palatinate Saxony Schleswig-Holstein Thuringia Saarland Berlin Hamburg Bremen BavariaLower SaxonyNorth Rhine-WestphaliaBaden-WürttembergBrandenburgMecklenburg-WesternPomeraniaSaxony-AnhaltHesseRhineland-PalatinateSaxonySchleswig-HolsteinThuringiaSaarlandBerlinHamburgBremen

Holidays by federal state

Baden-Württemberg12 Bavaria13 Berlin10 Brandenburg12 Bremen10 Hamburg10 Hesse10 Lower Saxony10 Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania11 North Rhine-Westphalia11 Rhineland-Palatinate11 Saarland12 Saxony11 Saxony-Anhalt11 Schleswig-Holstein10 Thuringia11

Common holidays

9 days

  • 1 JanThursday
  • 3 AprFriday
  • 6 AprMonday
  • 1 MayFriday
  • 14 MayThursday
  • 25 MayMonday
  • 3 OctSaturday
  • 25 DecFriday
  • 26 DecSaturday

Regional holidays

10 days

  • 6 JanTuesdayBaden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt
  • 8 MarSundayBerlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
  • 5 AprSundayBrandenburg
  • 24 MaySundayBrandenburg
  • 4 JunThursdayBaden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
  • 15 AugSaturdayBavaria, Saarland
  • 20 SepSundayThuringia
  • 31 OctSaturdayBrandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia
  • 1 NovSundayBaden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
  • 18 NovWednesdaySaxony

Public holidays and school dates in the German states

Most public holidays in Germany are determined at the state level, reflecting regional and religious traditions. In Bavaria, Assumption Day is a public holiday only in predominantly Catholic municipalities, remaining a regular workday in Protestant regions (such as parts of Franconia). The northern states (Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein) jointly introduced Reformation Day in 2018. Saxony alone kept the Day of Repentance and Prayer (Buß- und Bettag) when other states abolished it to finance statutory care insurance, with Saxon employees paying a higher insurance contribution in return. Carnival days such as Rosenmontag are not statutory public holidays anywhere in Germany, though schools and businesses often close locally.

Summer school holidays rotate each year among groups of states to spread out holiday traffic and accommodation demand. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg always take the latest summer slot to ensure adequate teaching time following their two-week Whitsun break.