Whether you’re living in Germany or just visiting, knowing the dates of the German public holidays is extremely important. On most of these dates, businesses and public institutions will close or have reduced hours. This means if you’re living here, you’ll need to take care of essential errands (like grocery shopping) in advance. And if you’re visiting, you’ll need to plan for restaurant and attraction closures.
To make sure that you don’t miss out on anything important, we’ve put together a list of the German public holidays, the state holidays for Berlin (Brandenburg) and Munich (Bavaria), and some additional important dates for your calendar.
What to know about German Public Holidays
There are nine official national public holidays in Germany each year. Additionally, there are regional holidays particular to each German state. This means that some German states (ahem, Bavaria) have more German holidays than others. Other German states (*cough cough, Berlin) get less.
As an American, it was wild to learn that many of the German bank holidays are religious and date back centuries. One notable exception is the Day of German Unity on 3 October, which commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990.
How public holidays work in Germany
On public holidays, most businesses are closed, just like on Sundays.
Many businesses – but not police stations or hospitals – close during national holidays in German and regional public holidays.
Just like on Sundays, pretty much all of German shops and attractions will be closed. So plan to do your grocery shopping well in advance!
Some restaurants may be open, but many will close for the holiday or observe shorter hours. If there’s a spot you want to go on a German public holiday, it’s good to call in advance and verify if they will be open. Don’t trust Google—it’s often wrong!
⭐️ Visit here for a list of shops that are likely to be open in Berlin, and here for a list in Munich.
Employees get a paid vacation day
If you’re an employee, you’ll get the public holiday day off, but still get paid.
Your holiday scheduled is determined by where you work—not by where you live. So if you are living in Berlin but working for an office in Munich, you’ll celebrate the Bavarian public holiday schedule. But you won’t get International Women’s Day (March 8) off, as that’s a Berlin holiday.
There are no “observed” holidays in Germany
If you were living in Germany in 2022, you probably noticed there were noticeably fewer days off over the course of the year. The annual rotation caused most of the major public holidays in Germany to fall on weekends in 2022. And unlike other countries, Germany doesn’t “observe” holidays that fall on weekends on other days. If it falls on a weekend, that’s just the luck of the year.
They’ve been talking about changing this for years, but so far, no significant progress has been made to change this.
Ok—so what are the days?
Add German Public Holidays to your digital calendar:
- Instructions for Google Calendar
- Instructions for Apple Calendar (iOS)
- Instructions for Apple Calendar (Mac)
Germany Public Holidays 2023
- 1 January (Sunday): New Year’s Day (Neujahrstag)
- 7 April (Friday): Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 10 April (Monday): Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
- 1 May (Monday): Labor Day (Maifeiertag)
- 18 May (Thursday): Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt, 40 days after Easter)
- 29 May (Monday): Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag) – seventh Monday after Easter, also called Pentecost Monday
- 3 October (Tuesday): Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit)
- 25 December (Monday): Christmas Day (Weihnachtstag)
- 26 December (Tuesday): Saint Stephen’s Day (Stephanstag) – also known as the second day of Christmas
Berlin Public Holidays 2023
- 1 January (Sunday): New Year’s Day (Neujahrstag)
- 8 March (Wednesday): International Women’s Day – Berlin
- 7 April (Friday): Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 10 April (Monday): Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
- 1 May (Monday): Labor Day (Maifeiertag)
- 18 May (Thursday): Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt, 40 days after Easter)
- 29 May (Monday): Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag) – seventh Monday after Easter, also called Pentecost Monday
- 3 October (Tuesday): Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit)
- 25 December (Monday): Christmas Day (Weihnachtstag)
- 26 December (Tuesday): Saint Stephen’s Day (Stephanstag) – also known as the second day of Christmas
Munich Public Holidays 2023
If you’re living in Bavaria, congratulations! You get to enjoy up to 13 days of German public holidays a year, one of the highest public holiday entitlements in Europe.
- 1 January (Sunday): New Year’s Day (Neujahrstag)
- 6 January (Friday): Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige)
- 7 April (Friday): Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 10 April (Monday): Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
- 1 May (Monday): Labor Day (Maifeiertag)
- 18 May (Thursday): Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt, 40 days after Easter)
- 29 May (Monday): Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag) – seventh Monday after Easter, also called Pentecost Monday
- 8 June (Thursday): Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam)
- 15 August (Tuesday): Assumption Day (Maria Himmelfahrt)
- 3 October (Tuesday): Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit)
- 1 November (Wednesday): All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen)
- 25 December (Monday): Christmas Day (Weihnachtstag)
- 26 December (Tuesday): Saint Stephen’s Day (Stephanstag) – also known as the second day of Christmas
Additional Important Cultural Days in Germany in 2023
- 20 February (Monday): Shrove Monday
- 21 February (Tuesday): Shrove Tuesday, also known as Carnival
- 22 February (Wednesday): Ash Wednesday, also known as Carnival
- 26 March (Sunday): Clocks go forward one hour as a result of daylight saving time starting
- 14 May (Sunday): Mother’s Day (second Sunday of May)
- 18 May (Thursday): Father’s Day (Vatertag, also known as Männertag/Herrentag, Men’s Day) – coincides with Ascension Day and can be a family celebration or celebrated by an outing with male friends
- 9 September (Saturday): German Language Day
- 10 September (Sunday): European Heritage Days – when monument buildings are opened to the public
- 16 September (Saturday): Oktoberfest starts
- 20 September (Wednesday): German World Children’s Day
- 29 October (Sunday): Clocks go back one hour as a result of daylight saving time ending
- 9 November (Thursday): Fall of the Berlin Wall
- 11 November (Saturday): St Martin’s Day – a religious observance where children take part in lantern processions
- 19 November (Sunday): National Day of Mourning – victims of war are remembered and in some regions, music or dance events are illegal
- 6 December (Wednesday): Saint Nicholas Day
