School holidays
German school holidays by federal state
German states set their own school holidays, and the summer break rotates under a long-term agreement between the education ministries. That is why the earliest and the latest summer break start weeks apart, a detail that surprises most employers with staff in more than one state. Pick a state for all dates.
| Federal state | Summer break | Holiday days | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hesse | 26/06/2027 – 08/08/2027 | 97 days | View holidays, Hesse |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 26/06/2027 – 08/08/2027 | 95 days | View holidays, Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Saarland | 26/06/2027 – 08/08/2027 | 102 days | View holidays, Saarland |
| Berlin | 01/07/2027 – 15/08/2027 | 108 days | View holidays, Berlin |
| Brandenburg | 01/07/2027 – 15/08/2027 | 107 days | View holidays, Brandenburg |
| Hamburg | 01/07/2027 – 11/08/2027 | 105 days | View holidays, Hamburg |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 03/07/2027 – 15/08/2027 | 108 days | View holidays, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 03/07/2027 – 15/08/2027 | 100 days | View holidays, Schleswig-Holstein |
| Bremen | 08/07/2027 – 18/08/2027 | 105 days | View holidays, Bremen |
| Lower Saxony | 08/07/2027 – 18/08/2027 | 105 days | View holidays, Lower Saxony |
| Saxony | 10/07/2027 – 22/08/2027 | 106 days | View holidays, Saxony |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 10/07/2027 – 22/08/2027 | 104 days | View holidays, Saxony-Anhalt |
| Thuringia | 10/07/2027 – 22/08/2027 | 101 days | View holidays, Thuringia |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 17/07/2027 – 31/08/2027 | 97 days | View holidays, North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Baden-Württemberg | 29/07/2027 – 12/09/2027 | 101 days | View holidays, Baden-Württemberg |
| Bavaria | 31/07/2027 – 13/09/2027 | 114 days | View holidays, Bavaria |
The count covers continuous days without school, including adjacent weekends and state-wide public holidays, so it is the time children are actually not in school. The official dates published by the education ministries count school days only and are therefore shorter; they are shown alongside on each state page.
Why the summer break moves every year
The education ministries stagger the states’ summer breaks in a rotating system, so that holiday traffic and destination demand spread out. The corridor runs from mid-June to early August, and a state’s slot shifts over the years. For workforce planning that means the holidays of your staff can sit weeks apart depending on location, and last year’s comparison does not hold.
Source: Kultusministerkonferenz, Ferientermine 2026/27 (FER2026_27.pdf) · reviewed on
This information is provided without warranty and without any claim to completeness, and it is not legal advice. Individual holidays apply only in certain municipalities, and states can change dates at short notice. The respective state law is what binds.
Frequently asked questions
Who sets German school holidays?
The federal states. The summer break follows a long-term staggering agreement between the state education ministries; every other break is decided by each state on its own.
Why do these dates differ from other sources?
We show the continuous stretch without school, including adjacent weekends and state-wide public holidays. Many sources publish the official dates, which cover school days only. Both are shown on this page.
Do employees with children get priority for holiday requests?
There is no automatic priority. Under section 7(1) of the Federal Leave Act, an employer must take the employee’s wishes into account unless urgent operational needs or the socially more pressing interests of other employees stand in the way. School-age children are a socially weighty criterion but not a guarantee, which is why a transparent company rule beats case-by-case decisions.
Are school-free days the same as holidays?
No. Besides the holiday periods there are school-free days (movable days or teacher training days) set by individual states or schools. We list them where the official source does; individual schools may deviate.
How current are these dates?
The dates come from the education ministries’ published holiday calendar and are maintained under version control; the review date is shown below the table. A scheduled check compares them against an independent source and reports differences. Short-notice changes by individual states remain possible.
Manage absences without maintaining spreadsheets
Gemploy knows the holidays of every German state and factors them into leave requests and absence planning automatically.