The Federal vs State Holiday System
Germany is a federal republic. Nine public holidays are set at the federal level and apply uniformly across all 16 states. Individual states (Länder) may designate additional holidays reflecting regional religious and historical traditions. There is no constitutional requirement for states to coordinate their additions, which is why a project that takes 15 working days to complete in Munich may take a different number in Hamburg.
Germany has no substitute day system. When a federal or state public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, no compensatory day off is added on the following Monday. The holiday is absorbed by the weekend without replacement.
The 9 Federal Public Holidays in 2026
In 2026, Easter falls on 5 April, which sets the dates of all moveable feasts.
| Date | Day | Holiday (German) | Holiday (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Thursday | Neujahr | New Year's Day |
| 3 April | Friday | Karfreitag | Good Friday |
| 6 April | Monday | Ostermontag | Easter Monday |
| 1 May | Friday | Tag der Arbeit | Labour Day |
| 14 May | Thursday | Christi Himmelfahrt | Ascension Day |
| 25 May | Monday | Pfingstmontag | Whit Monday |
| 3 October | Saturday | Tag der Deutschen Einheit | German Unity Day |
| 25 December | Friday | 1. Weihnachtstag | Christmas Day |
| 26 December | Saturday | 2. Weihnachtstag | Boxing Day |
Effective working-day losses from federal holidays in 2026: 7. German Unity Day and Boxing Day both fall on Saturdays and add no weekday closures.
May planning note: Ascension Day (14 May, Thursday) and Whit Monday (25 May, Monday) create a compressed 12-day stretch with two public holidays. Many employees take Friday 15 May off as a bridge day (Brückentag), linking Ascension into a four-day weekend. Expect reduced availability across German businesses during the entire 11–25 May window.
State-by-State Holiday Additions
| State | Additional Holidays | Total 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bavaria | Epiphany (6 Jan†), Corpus Christi (4 Jun), Assumption (15 Aug‡), All Saints (1 Nov§) | 13 |
| Baden-Württemberg | Epiphany (6 Jan†), Corpus Christi (4 Jun), All Saints (1 Nov§) | 12 |
| Saarland | Corpus Christi (4 Jun), Assumption (15 Aug‡), All Saints (1 Nov§) | 12 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Corpus Christi (4 Jun), All Saints (1 Nov§) | 11 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Corpus Christi (4 Jun), All Saints (1 Nov§) | 11 |
| Saxony | Reformation Day (31 Oct¶), Repentance Day (18 Nov) | 11 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | Epiphany (6 Jan†), Reformation Day (31 Oct¶) | 11 |
| Thuringia | Reformation Day (31 Oct¶), World Children's Day (20 Sep**) | 11 |
| Brandenburg | Easter Sunday (5 Apr), Reformation Day (31 Oct¶) | 11 |
| Berlin | International Women's Day (8 Mar**) | 10 |
| Hesse | Corpus Christi (4 Jun) | 10 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Reformation Day (31 Oct¶) | 10 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Reformation Day (31 Oct¶) | 10 |
| Lower Saxony | — | 9 |
| Hamburg | — | 9 |
| Bremen | — | 9 |
† Epiphany (6 January) — Tuesday. Adds one effective working-day closure. ‡ Assumption (15 August) — Saturday. No working-day closure added in 2026. § All Saints' Day (1 November) — Sunday. No working-day closure added in 2026. ¶ Reformation Day (31 October) — Saturday. No working-day closure added in 2026. **** Women's Day (8 March, Berlin) — Sunday. No working-day closure added in 2026.** **** World Children's Day (20 September, Thuringia) — Sunday. No working-day closure added in 2026.**
The 2026 weekend effect on state holidays is significant. Of the common state-specific additions, Reformation Day (observed in six states), Assumption (Bavaria and Saarland), All Saints' (five states), Women's Day (Berlin), and Children's Day (Thuringia) all fall on weekends. This reduces the actual working-day impact of those additions to zero in 2026. Only Corpus Christi (4 June, Thursday) and Epiphany (6 January, Tuesday) add genuine extra non-working weekdays in the relevant states.
Catholic vs Protestant Holiday Geography
The division of additional state holidays reflects Germany's historical confessional geography, established largely by the Peace of Augsburg (1555) and consolidated after reunification.
Catholic-majority states observe:
- Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) — 4 June 2026 (Thursday): Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Thuringia (in municipalities with a Catholic majority)
- All Saints' Day (Allerheiligen) — 1 November 2026 (Sunday — no weekday impact): Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate
- Assumption of Mary (Mariä Himmelfahrt) — 15 August 2026 (Saturday — no weekday impact): Bavaria, Saarland
- Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige) — 6 January 2026 (Tuesday): Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt
Protestant-majority states observe:
- Reformation Day (Reformationstag) — 31 October 2026 (Saturday — no weekday impact): Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia
Saxony alone observes Repentance and Prayer Day (Buß- und Bettag) on 18 November 2026 (Wednesday). This date is calculated as the Wednesday before the Sunday preceding 23 November. Saxony is the only German state to retain this holiday; all others dropped it in 1994 when the solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag) was introduced to fund German reunification. The date changes each year — in 2026 it falls on 18 November.
Practical Business Implications
Contracts Specifying "Working Days (Werktage)"
Under German contract law, "Werktage" (working days) conventionally means Monday through Saturday, excluding Sundays and public holidays. "Arbeitstage" (business days) is more narrowly construed as Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays. These are not interchangeable terms. A 6-Werktage payment period converts to 5 Arbeitstage per week, making a significant difference over longer terms. Confirm which term your contract uses and which state's holiday calendar applies.
Payroll and Public Holiday Work
Employees who work on a public holiday in Germany are entitled to a wage supplement (Feiertagszuschlag) under applicable collective agreements — typically 100–150% of the base rate, with 125% common. This supplement is in addition to the normal wage, not a replacement for it. Hours worked on public holidays are still subject to the 10-hour daily maximum under the Arbeitszeitgesetz (Working Hours Act), regardless of overtime arrangements.
Cross-State Logistics and Deliveries
A shipment routed from Munich (Bavaria) via Frankfurt (Hesse) to Hamburg encounters Corpus Christi (4 June, Thursday) as a closure day at both the Munich origin and the Frankfurt transit hub, but not at the Hamburg destination. For cross-state freight, check every node in the supply chain against the relevant state's holiday calendar.
How to Check the Holiday Calendar for a Specific German State
- Identify the federal state of the relevant office, warehouse, or counterparty.
- Apply the 9 federal holidays from the table above, noting that German Unity Day (3 October) and Boxing Day (26 December) fall on Saturdays in 2026.
- Add state-specific holidays from the state table above.
- Flag holidays falling on weekends — these do not move, and no substitute day is provided.
- For Bavaria, note that Assumption (15 August) and All Saints' Day (1 November) fall on a Saturday and Sunday respectively in 2026 — both are on the calendar but neither closes a weekday.
The EU Biz Tools Working Days Calculator lets you select a specific German federal state and calculates the exact working day count and deadline date for your project, payment term, or regulatory submission — with all 2026 state-level holiday data pre-loaded.