Germany is famous for having no single national holiday calendar — and German state holidays 2026 are the reason why. While nine holidays are observed in every German state, individual states add their own, so the number of days off you get depends on where you live. The contrast between Bavaria, with the most holidays, and Berlin, with among the fewest, shows the system perfectly.
The Nine Nationwide Holidays in 2026
These holidays are observed in all sixteen German states in 2026: New Year’s Day on 1 January, Good Friday on 3 April, Easter Monday on 6 April, Labour Day on 1 May, Ascension Day on 14 May, Whit Monday on 25 May, German Unity Day on 3 October, Christmas Day on 25 December, and the Second Day of Christmas on 26 December. If you live anywhere in Germany, these nine are guaranteed days off, and they form the baseline every state calendar builds on. They are set at the federal level through long-standing tradition and law, and they never vary between states.
Bavaria: Germany’s Holiday Champion
Bavaria traditionally observes the most public holidays of any German state, thanks to its Catholic heritage. On top of the nationwide nine, Bavaria generally adds Epiphany on 6 January, Corpus Christi (a movable feast in late spring), All Saints’ Day on 1 November, and — in many Bavarian municipalities — Assumption Day on 15 August. That brings predominantly Catholic regions of Bavaria to thirteen public holidays a year, four more than the national baseline. The exact set can vary slightly between municipalities for Assumption Day, so locals check their town’s calendar. For workers, the difference is tangible: several extra paid days off every year compared with colleagues in northern states.
Berlin: Fewer, But With a Unique Addition
Berlin sits at the other end of the spectrum. The capital traditionally observes only the nine nationwide holidays plus one distinctive extra: International Women’s Day on 8 March, which Berlin made an official public holiday — a unique feature among German states. So while a worker in Munich might enjoy thirteen days off, a worker in Berlin typically gets ten. The difference is a direct reflection of history: Bavaria’s calendar grew from centuries of Catholic feast days, while Berlin’s reflects its own political and cultural path. Neither is better — they simply mirror different traditions.
Why It Matters for Planning
If you are moving between German states, travelling, or scheduling business across state lines, always check the specific state’s calendar — a regular workday in Berlin can be a full public holiday in Munich. Employers with offices in multiple states usually publish state-specific holiday schedules, and payroll systems are configured per state for exactly this reason. And remember the general rule for Germany: when in doubt, the state’s official gazette is the authority, not an unofficial online list. For 2026, start from the nine nationwide dates above and add your state’s extras to get your true total.
One more quirk worth knowing: Germany has no nationwide rule moving a holiday that falls on a weekend to the next weekday, unlike the UK’s substitute-day system. If German Unity Day or another fixed holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday, the day off is simply lost that year — there is no replacement Monday. In 2026, the fixed-date holidays fall mostly on weekdays, so workers across all states get the full benefit of the calendar.