Czech Republic Public Holidays 2026 (Czechia)
Czechia keeps the same 13 statutory days off every year — Act No. 245/2000 Sb. fixes them permanently, so nothing has to be announced for 2026. What changes is only where they land. Gregorian Easter 2026 falls on April 5, putting Good Friday on Friday April 3 and Easter Monday on April 6, which combine into a four-day break. Eleven of the thirteen days fall Monday to Friday, Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day on Tuesday 17 November among them. Only two are swallowed by a weekend with no substitute: Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Sunday July 5) and the Second Day of Christmas (Saturday December 26).
At a glance
Czech Republic has 13 official public holidays (13 days off) in 2026 and 6 long weekends; the longest break is Easter (Apr 3 – 6, 4 days).
| Public holidays | 13 |
|---|---|
| Total days off | 13 |
| Longest break | Easter · 4 days (Apr 3 – 6) |
| Long weekends | 6 |
Official public holidays
New Year's Day (January 1, 2026), Good Friday (April 3, 2026), Easter Monday (April 6, 2026), Labour Day (May 1, 2026), Victory Day (May 8, 2026), Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (July 5, 2026), Jan Hus Day (July 6, 2026), Czech Statehood Day (September 28, 2026), Independent Czechoslovak State Day (October 28, 2026), Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day (November 17, 2026), Christmas Eve (December 24, 2026), Christmas Day (December 25, 2026), Second Day of Christmas (December 26, 2026)
Statutory days off
13
Landing Monday–Friday
11 of 13
Lost to a weekend
2 (Jul 5, Dec 26)
Friday holidays
4 (Apr 3, May 1, May 8, Dec 25)
Czech Republic public holiday list
| Date | Day | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Thursday | New Year's DayThursday. The Act carries this date twice — Den obnovy samostatného českého státu in §1 and Nový rok in §2 — but it is one day off, and that is why fourteen statutory items make thirteen days.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| April 3, 2026 | Friday | Good FridayFriday — Velký pátek, two days before Easter Sunday (April 5). The youngest member of the list: Act No. 359/2015 Sb. made it a day of rest from 2016.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| April 6, 2026 | Monday | Easter MondayMonday — Velikonoční pondělí, Easter plus one. Friday through Monday is a four-day break with no leave taken.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| May 1, 2026 | Friday | Labour DayFriday — Svátek práce, and the first of two Friday holidays a week apart: Victory Day follows on May 8.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| May 8, 2026 | Friday | Victory DayFriday — Den vítězství, the anniversary of the 1945 end of the war and the Prague Uprising. Act No. 101/2004 Sb. renamed it from Liberation Day.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| July 5, 2026 | Sunday | Saints Cyril and Methodius DaySunday — the feast of the missionaries of the Slavs (an “other holiday” under §2) is swallowed by the weekend, but its neighbour recovers a weekday: July 6 is a Monday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| July 6, 2026 | Monday | Jan Hus DayMonday — Den upálení mistra Jana Husa, the anniversary of the Reformer burning at Constance in 1415. In 2026 it pulls the weekend through to Monday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| September 28, 2026 | Monday | Czech Statehood DayMonday — Den české státnosti, the feast of Duke Wenceslas and the closing word of the Czech anthem. A Monday in 2026, so it delivers a real three-day weekend.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| October 28, 2026 | Wednesday | Independent Czechoslovak State DayWednesday — Den vzniku samostatného československého státu, the 1918 declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary. Midweek: it splits the week and bridges nothing.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| November 17, 2026 | Tuesday | Struggle for Freedom and Democracy DayTuesday, and a day that really comes back. §1 fixes Den boje za svobodu a demokracii on 17 November, the date it shares with International Students’ Day — 1939, when the Nazis shut the Czech universities, and 1989, when the police attack on a student march began the Velvet Revolution. Midweek, so it bridges no weekend, but for a Monday-to-Friday worker it is a full day off.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| December 24, 2026 | Thursday | Christmas EveThursday. Štědrý den is a statutory day of rest in its own right — the carp, the potato salad and the presents all belong to the 24th, not the 25th.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| December 25, 2026 | Friday | Christmas DayFriday — 1. svátek vánoční, the “first Christmas holiday” in the Act’s own wording. Thursday and Friday back to back opens a four-day run.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| December 26, 2026 | Saturday | Second Day of ChristmasSaturday — 2. svátek vánoční. It adds nothing: Saturday and Sunday were already rest days, and no substitute is granted.Public holiday | Public holiday |
2026 Czech Republic calendar
01January
02February
03March
04April
05May
06June
07July
08August
09September
10October
11November
12December
Czech Republic long weekends in 2026
Easter
4 daysApr 3 – 6
Good Friday (Apr 3) to Easter Monday (Apr 6) — four days, no leave needed. In 2026 Czech Easter runs a week ahead of the Orthodox one, which falls on April 12.
Labour Day
3 daysMay 1 – 3
Victory Day
3 daysMay 8 – 10
Saints Cyril and Methodius Day & Jan Hus Day
3 daysJul 4 – 6
Czech Statehood Day
3 daysSep 26 – 28
Christmas
4 daysDec 24 – 27
Christmas Eve (Thu Dec 24) and Christmas Day (Fri Dec 25) plus the weekend. The Second Day, Saturday December 26, is a statutory holiday that adds nothing.
A permanent list: why nobody in Prague publishes holidays for 2026
Act No. 245/2000 Sb. is a short statute with a permanent effect. §1 names seven state holidays (1 January, 8 May, 5 July, 6 July, 28 September, 28 October and 17 November), §2 names seven other holidays (1 January again, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May and December 24, 25 and 26), and §3 declares every one of them a day of rest. Because 1 January is in both lists, fourteen statutory items collapse into thirteen actual days off. Only two dates move at all — Good Friday and Easter Monday — and they hang off the Gregorian computus, which gives April 5 for 2026. That is the whole mechanism; no ministry announcement is required and none is coming.
The same Act also states what is not a holiday. §4 lists the significant days (významné dny) — 16 January for Jan Palach, 27 January for the victims of the Holocaust, 8 March, 12 March for the NATO accession and 11 November for war veterans among them — and adds that they are working days. Shops, offices and factories run normally on every one of them, which is why they stay out of this table and out of the ICS, CSV and PDF downloads.
A good year on paper: eleven working-day holidays and four Fridays
The only question a fixed calendar answers differently each year is which weekend eats which holiday. In 2026 the damage is the lightest of the four years on this page: two of thirteen. Saints Cyril and Methodius Day lands on Sunday July 5 (though Jan Hus Day on Monday July 6 recovers a weekday) and the Second Day of Christmas lands on Saturday December 26. Everything else falls on a weekday — Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day, fixed by §1 on 17 November, is a Tuesday in 2026 and is not one of the losses. Compare 2027, where four of thirteen disappear.
What 2026 does hand you is placement. Four holidays fall on Fridays — Good Friday (April 3), Labour Day (May 1), Victory Day (May 8) and Christmas Day (December 25) — and Labour Day and Victory Day sit exactly a week apart, so early May gives two consecutive three-day weekends without a single day of leave. Easter is the longest automatic break at four days; Christmas Eve into Sunday gives four as well.
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Official sources & data
- Zákon č. 245/2000 Sb., o státních svátcích, o ostatních svátcích, o významných dnech a o dnech pracovního klidu — §1 až §4 (amendment register current to Act 92/2022 Sb.)Visit sourceParlament České republiky, Poslanecká sněmovna (Czech Chamber of Deputies, official register of the Collection of Laws)
- e-Sbírka — Digitální sbírka zákonů České republiky, předpis 245/2000 Sb.Visit sourceMinisterstvo vnitra České republiky (Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic)
- Nager.Date Public Holidays API — Czech Republic 2026 (independent cross-check)Visit sourceNager.Date (open-source holiday data project)
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does the Czech Republic have in 2026?
Thirteen — the same number every year, because Act No. 245/2000 Sb. fixes them permanently. In 2026 eleven land Monday to Friday and two fall on a weekend (July 5 and December 26), which Czech law does not compensate.
What is the longest holiday break in Czech Republic in 2026?
The longest break in Czech Republic is Easter (Apr 3 – 6, 4 days).
What are the official public holidays in Czech Republic in 2026?
Czech Republic has 13 official public holidays in 2026: New Year's Day (January 1, 2026), Good Friday (April 3, 2026), Easter Monday (April 6, 2026), Labour Day (May 1, 2026), Victory Day (May 8, 2026), Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (July 5, 2026), Jan Hus Day (July 6, 2026), Czech Statehood Day (September 28, 2026), Independent Czechoslovak State Day (October 28, 2026), Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day (November 17, 2026), Christmas Eve (December 24, 2026), Christmas Day (December 25, 2026), Second Day of Christmas (December 26, 2026).
When is Good Friday 2026 in Czechia?
Friday April 3. Gregorian Easter 2026 falls on April 5, so Velký pátek is April 3 and Velikonoční pondělí is April 6 — a four-day break between them. The Orthodox Churches celebrate Easter a week later, on April 12, so Czech and Greek Good Fridays differ in 2026.
Is there a make-up workday or a transferred holiday in Czechia in 2026?
No, and there never is. Unlike China or Vietnam, the Czech Republic has neither substitute days nor make-up weekend workdays: a holiday on a Saturday or Sunday is simply lost. This page therefore publishes an empty make-up list on purpose — it means “checked, none exist”, not “unknown”.
Which Czech holidays are worth planning a trip around in 2026?
The two May Fridays. Labour Day (Friday May 1) and Victory Day (Friday May 8) each produce a three-day weekend on their own, and the Czech habit is to leave Prague — weekend cottages (chaty) fill up and the old-town shops go quiet. Then Easter (April 3–6) and Christmas (December 24–27). Most retail is closed on all thirteen statutory days, so shop the day before.
Why do Czech holidays never move, while other countries shift them to Monday?
Because the Act is written as a list of dates, not a schedule. The United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand gazette an “observed” day when a feast hits a weekend, and East Asian systems add substitute leave; the Czech statute contains no such mechanism at all. The practical benefit is that this calendar — and 2027, 2028 and beyond — can be published years ahead with no provisional marker, because nothing has to be announced.
Is January 1 counted once or twice in the Czech list?
Twice in the law, once in real life. §1 lists 1 January as Den obnovy samostatného českého státu (the 1993 restoration of the independent Czech state) and §2 lists it again as Nový rok. Both name the same rest day, which is why fourteen statutory items produce thirteen days off — and why the count on this page stays at thirteen in every year.
