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Public holidays in Germany

9 days in 2026 · 9 in 2027

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Next public holiday

German Unity Day

Tag der Deutschen Einheit

After it: Christmas Day, Friday 25 December

Saturday, 3 October 2026

Nine public holidays are days off in all sixteen German states, and every further day off is set by the state (Land) itself, so the yearly total runs from 10 in six states, Berlin and Hamburg among them, to 13 in Bavaria. Of the nine shared days, seven fall on a weekday in 2026 and five in 2027.

Federal law fixes a single one of them: German Unity Day on 3 October, made a national holiday by the Unity Treaty. The federation has no explicit power to legislate for holidays, so New Year, Easter, Ascension, Whitsun, 1 May and Christmas are protected in sixteen separate state laws on Sundays and holidays that agree on them. The Basic Law, through an article carried over from the Weimar constitution, keeps Sundays and public holidays as days of rest from work and of spiritual elevation.

Most of the days on which the state laws differ are church feasts. Corpus Christi and All Saints' Day, both Catholic feasts, are days off in states of the south and west. Reformation Day is off in nine states across the north and east.

Days off in 2026
9Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
7Monday to Friday
On a weekend
2Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
4and 2 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Germany in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayNeujahr1 January. A Thursday in 2026, so a single day of leave on Friday 2 January gave four days off.Thursday
  2. 3 April: Good FridayKarfreitagGood Friday, and also a quiet day under state law, when public dancing, live music in pubs and some sports events are banned.FridayDate moves
  3. 6 April: Easter MondayOstermontagOff in every state. East Germany dropped it after 1967 and restored it in 1990, the last year of the GDR.MondayDate moves
  4. 1 May: Labour DayTag der ArbeitLabour Day. In East Germany its full name was the International Day of Struggle and Celebration of the Working People for Peace and Socialism.Friday
  5. 14 May: Ascension DayChristi HimmelfahrtAscension falls 39 days after Easter Sunday and always on a Thursday, so the Friday after it is a common day of leave. Father's Day is kept on the same date.ThursdayDate moves
  6. 25 May: Whit MondayPfingstmontagWhit Monday, 50 days after Easter Sunday, and a day off in all sixteen states.MondayDate moves
  7. 3 October: German Unity DayTag der Deutschen EinheitThe one holiday set by federal law. 3 October is the day in 1990 on which the GDR acceded to the area of the Basic Law.Saturday
  8. 25 December: Christmas DayErster WeihnachtstagChristmas Day. Christmas Eve, the day before, is not a public holiday, although in some states it becomes a quiet day from the afternoon.Friday
  9. 26 December: St. Stephen's DayZweiter WeihnachtstagThe second day of Christmas. In 2027 both Christmas days fall on the weekend.Saturday

Long weekends

Long weekends in Germany in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
  • 4daysFri 3 Apr to Mon 6 AprGood Friday, Easter Monday
  • 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
  • 4daysThu 14 May to Sun 17 MayWith Fri 15 May taken as leave · Ascension Day
  • 3daysSat 23 May to Mon 25 MayWhit Monday
  • 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day

2027

Public holidays in Germany in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayNeujahrFriday
  2. 26 March: Good FridayKarfreitagFridayDate moves
  3. 29 March: Easter MondayOstermontagMondayDate moves
  4. 1 May: Labour DayTag der ArbeitSaturday
  5. 6 May: Ascension DayChristi HimmelfahrtThursdayDate moves
  6. 17 May: Whit MondayPfingstmontagMondayDate moves
  7. 3 October: German Unity DayTag der Deutschen EinheitSunday
  8. 25 December: Christmas DayErster WeihnachtstagSaturday
  9. 26 December: St. Stephen's DayZweiter WeihnachtstagSunday

Regional

Holidays kept in parts of Germany

Public holidays in 2026 that are days off only in the regions listed, by their ISO 3166-2 codes.

  1. 6 January: EpiphanyHeilige Drei KönigeDE-BW · DE-BY · DE-STEpiphany, the day after the twelve days of Christmas. Off in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt, and marked with local customs of its own in parts of the country.Tuesday
  2. 8 March: International Women's DayInternationaler FrauentagDE-BE · DE-MVInternational Women's Day. Berlin made it a public holiday in 2019, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern also keeps it; nowhere else is it a day off.Sunday
  3. 5 April: Easter SundayOstersonntagDE-BBBrandenburg alone declares Easter Sunday a public holiday by law. Other states leave it out because it is a Sunday anyway; Hesse declared every Sunday a holiday.SundayDate moves
  4. 24 May: PentecostPfingstsonntagDE-BBWhit Sunday, which, like Easter Sunday, Brandenburg alone names in its holiday law.SundayDate moves
  5. 4 June: Corpus ChristiFronleichnamDE-BW · DE-BY · DE-HE · DE-NW · DE-RP · DE-SLCorpus Christi, 60 days after Easter Sunday and so always a Thursday. A day off in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.ThursdayDate moves
  6. 15 August: Assumption DayMariä HimmelfahrtDE-SLThe Assumption of Mary, off across Saarland. Saturday in 2026 and Sunday in 2027 mean it costs no working day in either year.Saturday
  7. 20 September: World Children's DayWeltkindertagDE-THWorld Children's Day, a day off in Thuringia since 2019 and nowhere else.Sunday
  8. 31 October: Reformation DayReformationstagDE-BB · DE-MV · DE-SN · DE-ST · DE-TH · DE-HB · DE-HH · DE-NI · DE-SHThe Protestant Reformation. Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein made it permanent in 2018, a year after it was a one-off day off everywhere for the 500th anniversary.Saturday
  9. 1 November: All Saints' DayAllerheiligenDE-BW · DE-BY · DE-NW · DE-RP · DE-SLAll Saints' Day, off in five states in the west and south, and a quiet day wherever it is a holiday.Sunday
  10. 18 November: Repentance and Prayer DayBuß- und BettagDE-SNThe Day of Prayer and Repentance, the Wednesday eleven days before the first Sunday of Advent. Every state kept it until 1994; Saxony is the only one that still does. Bavarian schools close for it.WednesdayDate moves

The state totals hide days kept in only part of a state, which the calendar above does not list. The Assumption is a day off in about 1,700 predominantly Catholic Bavarian communities and in Augsburg and Munich, and Bavaria counts it in its 13. Corpus Christi is off in a few Sorbian communities in Saxony and in the Catholic district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia. Augsburg alone keeps the Augsburg Peace Festival on 8 August.

Quiet days (stille Tage) are a separate category in state law. On them public dancing, sports events and music in pubs are restricted, even where the day is not a holiday: Ash Wednesday in Bavaria, Maundy Thursday and Holy Saturday in some states, Volkstrauertag and Totensonntag in November, and the afternoon of Christmas Eve in some states.

East Germany kept its own list. It dropped Reformation Day and the Day of Prayer and Repentance after 1966, and Easter Monday and Ascension after 1967, and added the Day of the Republic on 7 October. West Germany marked 17 June as German Unity Day from 1954 until 1990, for the East German uprising of 1953; it is now a flag day.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Germany

How many public holidays does Germany have in 2026?

Nine are days off in every state: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension, Whit Monday, 3 October and the two Christmas days. Seven of them fall on a weekday in 2026; 3 October and 26 December are Saturdays. Each state adds its own, from one more in Berlin to four more in Bavaria.

Why does Bavaria have more public holidays than Berlin?

Holidays are state law in Germany, and the Bavarian law adds four church feasts to the nine shared days: Epiphany, Corpus Christi, All Saints' Day and the Assumption, which is off in about 1,700 predominantly Catholic communities and counted in the state total. That gives 13. Berlin adds only International Women's Day on 8 March, for a total of 10.

Is 31 October a public holiday in Germany?

In nine of the sixteen states. Reformation Day is a day off in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia. It was off in every state once, in 2017, for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and the four northern states among the nine adopted it for good the following year. In 2026 and 2027 the date lands on the weekend, a Saturday and then a Sunday.

Why is German Unity Day on 3 October and not 17 June?

Until 1990 German Unity Day was 17 June, remembering the uprising in East Germany in 1953. The Unity Treaty moved it to 3 October, the day in 1990 on which the GDR acceded to the Basic Law, and made it a national holiday. It is the one day off that federal law sets; 17 June survives as a flag day.

Is Buß- und Bettag a day off in Germany?

Only in Saxony, where it falls on Wednesday 18 November 2026 and Wednesday 17 November 2027. It was a holiday in every state until 1994, when it was given up to pay for the new nursing care insurance. Saxony kept it, and there the nursing care insurance is paid by employees rather than employers. In Bavaria the schools close, though work does not stop.

What are the long weekends in Germany in 2026?

Four come from the nine shared days alone. Easter runs from Friday 3 April to Monday 6 April, 1 May is a Friday, and Whitsun gives Saturday 23 May to Whit Monday. Christmas Day on a Friday gives 25 to 27 December. Ascension on Thursday 14 May needs one day of leave on Friday 15 May for four days off, and the same holds for Friday 2 January after New Year and, in the six Corpus Christi states, Friday 5 June.

Is Christmas Eve a public holiday in Germany?

No. 24 December is an ordinary working day in law, a Thursday in 2026 and a Friday in 2027. In some states it becomes a quiet day from the afternoon, and most places close by then; many businesses and most schools stay shut the whole day. Only 25 and 26 December are public holidays.

Where are 8 March and 20 September days off?

International Women's Day, 8 March, is a public holiday in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. World Children's Day, 20 September, is one in Thuringia only. Both fell on a Sunday in 2026 and fall on a Monday in 2027, when each gives its state a three-day weekend.

What is a quiet day in Germany?

A stiller Tag is a day protected by state law on which public dancing, sports events and live or loud music in pubs are banned. Good Friday is one everywhere. Others include Totensonntag, the last Sunday of the Protestant church year, and Volkstrauertag, the day of national mourning. Hesse makes the major Christian holidays quiet until midday, and Rhineland-Palatinate makes Easter Sunday and Christmas Day quiet until 4 pm.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.