School holidays
School holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia
School holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia for the 2026/27 school year: as continuous periods, meaning adjacent weekends and state-wide public holidays are included.
North Rhine-Westphalia has no February break, and its autumn break of a good two weeks is among the longest in the country. As it is Germany’s most populous state, that concentrates demand: October, not February, is the tightest leave period for employers here.
2026/27
| Break | from | to | Days | official dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn break | (Sa) | (Su) | 16 | 17/10/2026 – 31/10/2026 |
| Christmas break | (We) | (We) | 15 | identical |
| Easter break | (Sa) | (Su) | 16 | 22/03/2027 – 03/04/2027 |
| School-free day | (Sa) | (Tu) | 4 | 18/05/2027 – 18/05/2027 |
| Summer break | (Sa) | (Tu) | 46 | 19/07/2027 – 31/08/2027 |
The period shown is the continuous stretch without school, including adjacent weekends and state-wide public holidays. The “official dates” column gives the dates published by the education ministries, which cover school days only.
At a glance
- 97 continuous holiday days in the school year
- longest period: Summer break, 46 days
- summer break from 17 July 2027 to 31 August 2027
- no separate winter break
2027/28
| Break | from | to | Days | official dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn break | (Sa) | (Su) | 16 | 23/10/2027 – 06/11/2027 |
| Christmas break | (Fr) | (Su) | 17 | 24/12/2027 – 08/01/2028 |
| Easter break | (Sa) | (Su) | 16 | 10/04/2028 – 22/04/2028 |
| Summer break | (Sa) | (Tu) | 46 | 10/07/2028 – 22/08/2028 |
The period shown is the continuous stretch without school, including adjacent weekends and state-wide public holidays. The “official dates” column gives the dates published by the education ministries, which cover school days only.
At a glance
- 95 continuous holiday days in the school year
- longest period: Summer break, 46 days
- summer break from 08 July 2028 to 22 August 2028
- no separate winter break
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.