Public holidays in Germany 2026: the last dates of the year
Pick a state: the list shows every 2026 public holiday with its weekday. Only a few remain before the end of the year, most of them on a weekend.
Time left until Christmas Day, 25 December 2026
57days23hrs0min0sec
Public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, 2026
11 holidays
8 of them fall on a weekday.
| Holidays on weekdays | 8 |
| Holidays at weekends | 3 |
| True bridge days (1 leave day) | 3 |
| Working days Monday to Friday | 253 |
| Date | Weekday | Holiday | Applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2026 | Thursday | New Year's Day | nationwide |
| 3 April 2026 | Friday | Good Friday | nationwide |
| 6 April 2026 | Monday | Easter Monday | nationwide |
| 1 May 2026 | Friday | Labour Day | nationwide |
| 14 May 2026 | Thursday | Ascension Day | nationwide |
| 25 May 2026 | Monday | Whit Monday | nationwide |
| 4 June 2026 | Thursday | Corpus Christi | statewide |
| 3 October 2026 | Saturday | German Unity Day | nationwide |
| 1 November 2026 | Sunday | All Saints' Day | statewide |
| 25 December 2026 | Friday | Christmas Day | nationwide |
| 26 December 2026 | Saturday | Boxing Day (St Stephen’s Day) | nationwide |
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · state holiday acts checked on 28 October 2026
By the end of October only a few of 2026's public holidays remain, and they fall badly. Reformation Day on 31 October 2026 is a Saturday and All Saints' Day on 1 November a Sunday. In Saxony the Day of Repentance and Prayer follows on Wednesday 18 November 2026, the only November holiday on a weekday. Christmas then brings a long weekend: Christmas Day is a Friday and Boxing Day a Saturday. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, both Thursdays, are ordinary working days by law. If you want the days between Christmas and New Year off, four leave days from 28 to 31 December give you ten days in a row, from Christmas Day to Sunday 3 January 2027, or eleven if your employer gives Christmas Eve off. Overall 2026 had ten to thirteen public holidays depending on the state, fourteen in Augsburg; New Year's Day on a Thursday and 1 May on a Friday made the start of the year especially generous.
All public holidays in 2026
| Date | Weekday | Holiday | Applies in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2026 | Thursday | New Year's Day | all 16 states |
| 6 January 2026 | Tuesday | Epiphany | BW, BY, ST |
| 8 March 2026 | Sunday | International Women's Day | BE, MV |
| 3 April 2026 | Friday | Good Friday | all 16 states |
| 5 April 2026 | Sunday | Easter Sunday | BB |
| 6 April 2026 | Monday | Easter Monday | all 16 states |
| 1 May 2026 | Friday | Labour Day | all 16 states |
| 14 May 2026 | Thursday | Ascension Day | all 16 states |
| 24 May 2026 | Sunday | Whit Sunday | BB |
| 25 May 2026 | Monday | Whit Monday | all 16 states |
| 4 June 2026 | Thursday | Corpus Christi | BW, BY, HE, NW, RP, SL (in part: SN, TH) |
| 8 August 2026 | Saturday | Augsburg Peace Festival | (in part: BY) |
| 15 August 2026 | Saturday | Assumption Day | SL (in part: BY) |
| 20 September 2026 | Sunday | World Children's Day | TH |
| 3 October 2026 | Saturday | German Unity Day | all 16 states |
| 31 October 2026 | Saturday | Reformation Day | BB, HB, HH, MV, NI, SN, ST, SH, TH |
| 1 November 2026 | Sunday | All Saints' Day | BW, BY, NW, RP, SL |
| 18 November 2026 | Wednesday | Day of Repentance and Prayer | SN |
| 25 December 2026 | Friday | Christmas Day | all 16 states |
| 26 December 2026 | Saturday | Boxing Day (St Stephen’s Day) | all 16 states |
Looking back: a good year for bridges
2026 was more generous to employees than the year ahead. New Year's Day fell on a Thursday, making the Friday a bridge day. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt added Epiphany on a Tuesday, with the Monday before as a second bridge day. 1 May was a Friday, and Ascension Day on 14 May and Corpus Christi on 4 June fell on Thursdays. The autumn was weak: 3 October was a Saturday, and Reformation Day and All Saints' Day fell on the weekend.
For the last weeks of the year only Christmas is worth planning. How best to place your days off around New Year is on bridge days 2026; for next year see public holidays 2027.
North Rhine-Westphalia 2026: using 3 leave days
North Rhine-Westphalia 2026: using 3 leave days
12 days off
| Thu 1 January – Sun 4 January | 1 → 4 days |
| Thu 14 May – Sun 17 May | 1 → 4 days |
| Thu 4 June – Sun 7 June | 1 → 4 days |
Holidays and working days in 2026 by state
| State | Holidays | on weekdays | Working days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 12 | 9 | 252 |
| Bavaria | 13 | 9 | 252 |
| Berlin | 10 | 7 | 254 |
| Brandenburg | 12 | 7 | 254 |
| Bremen | 10 | 7 | 254 |
| Hamburg | 10 | 7 | 254 |
| Hesse | 10 | 8 | 253 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 11 | 7 | 254 |
| Lower Saxony | 10 | 7 | 254 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 11 | 8 | 253 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 11 | 8 | 253 |
| Saarland | 12 | 8 | 253 |
| Saxony | 11 | 8 | 253 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 11 | 8 | 253 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 10 | 7 | 254 |
| Thuringia | 11 | 7 | 254 |
The Day of Repentance and Prayer is why Saxony has one working day fewer in 2026 than states with the same number of summer holidays. Its history and rules are on public holidays in Saxony.