Public holidays in Germany 2026

Germany has 9 nationwide public holidays in 2026. That count covers only days observed across the whole country: individual states add their own, so residents of Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, for instance, typically see several extra days off that don’t appear on this national list. The table below sets out all 9 nationwide dates.

The shape of the year

The nationwide calendar opens with New Year’s Day on Thursday, 1 January, and closes with St. Stephen’s Day on Saturday, 26 December. Between those two points the year is unevenly spread: the longest run without a nationwide holiday stretches 131 days, from Whit Monday to German Unity Day on 3 October. Anyone planning a year of breaks around Germany’s national dates alone will find the second half of summer and early autumn a long stretch with nothing built in.

The weekday luck of 2026

Where a holiday lands in the week matters more than the total count. In 2026, 2 of the 9 nationwide holidays fall on a Monday, extending the weekend either side, and 3 fall on a Friday, doing the same at the other end of the week. The remaining 2 land on a weekend: German Unity Day on Saturday, 3 October, and St. Stephen’s Day on Saturday, 26 December. A holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday doesn’t automatically move to a weekday - whether it’s made up elsewhere depends on local rules, and those vary, so it’s worth checking rather than assuming.

Dates are drawn from the Nager.Date open holiday dataset as reviewed for this page, and some dates can still be adjusted by government decision after publication.