Germany Public Holidays 2028
Germany has 9 nationwide public holidays in 2028 — and only one of them lands on a weekend: New Year's Day (Sat Jan 1). With no substitute-day rule, it is simply lost. The other eight all fall on weekdays, making 2028 the best year for German holiday-takers in a decade: Easter (Apr 14–17) is a four-day break, and Christmas (Dec 25–26) lands on Monday–Tuesday.
Nationwide holidays
9
Longest break
Easter · 4 days
Lost to weekends
1 (Jan 1)
With state days
Up to 13 (Bavaria)
2028 Germany calendar
01January
02February
03March
04April
05May
06June
07July
08August
09September
10October
11November
12December
Germany public holiday list
| Date | Day | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2028 | Saturday | New Year's DayFalls on a Saturday in 2028 — Germany has no substitute-day rule, so it is lost for Monday-to-Friday workers. The only nationwide holiday lost to a weekend this year.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| April 14, 2028 | Friday | Good FridayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| April 17, 2028 | Monday | Easter MondayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| May 1, 2028 | Monday | Labour DayFalls on a Monday in 2028 — a three-day weekend after two consecutive years of Saturday losses.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| May 25, 2028 | Thursday | Ascension DayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| June 5, 2028 | Monday | Whit MondayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| October 3, 2028 | Tuesday | German Unity DayFalls on a Tuesday in 2028, after falling on a Sunday in 2027 — a good year for Unity Day.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| December 25, 2028 | Monday | Christmas DayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| December 26, 2028 | Tuesday | Boxing DayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
Germany long weekends in 2028
Easter
4 daysApr 14 – 17
Good Friday and Easter Monday bracket the weekend — four days off, and the only four-day holiday break of 2028.
Labour Day
3 daysApr 29 – May 1
Ascension bridge
4 daysMay 25 – 28
Ascension Day is always a Thursday. Friday May 26 is the most popular Brückentag of the year — a vacation day, not a public holiday.
Whit Monday
3 daysJun 3 – 5
Whit Monday on June 5 rounds out a three-day weekend — with Ascension just a week earlier, late May to early June is the holiday sweet spot of 2028.
Christmas
4 daysDec 23 – 26
Christmas Day (Mon) and Boxing Day (Tue) follow the weekend directly — four consecutive days off without taking a single vacation day.
Nationwide holidays vs state (Bundesland) holidays
Only nine public holidays apply in all of Germany. Each of the 16 federal states adds its own days: Epiphany (Jan 6) in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt; International Women's Day (Mar 8) in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; Corpus Christi in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and parts of Saxony and Thuringia; the Assumption (Aug 15) in Saarland and Bavaria's mostly Catholic areas; Reformation Day (Oct 31) in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen; All Saints (Nov 1) in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland; and Buß- und Bettag in Saxony only.
Bavaria tops the table with up to 13 holidays in total, while Berlin and Hamburg get only the nine nationwide days plus (in Berlin's case) Women's Day. Always check the calendar for your specific state.
No substitute days: 2028 loses just one holiday to a weekend
Unlike the UK or Japan, Germany has no substitute-day rule. When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there is no weekday off in lieu — the holiday is simply lost for employees on a standard Monday-to-Friday week.
2027 was the bad year — four of nine nationwide holidays lost to weekends. 2028 is the exact opposite: only New Year's Day (Saturday, Jan 1) is lost, and the other eight all fall on weekdays. Eight usable national holidays out of nine is the best result since 2024.
Brückentage: how Germans turn 1 vacation day into 4 days off
A "Brückentag" (bridge day) is the working day between a holiday and the weekend, which Germans routinely take as vacation. Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday, so the Friday after it is the country's most popular bridge day — one vacation day turns into a four-day weekend.
In 2028 the standout bridge day is Friday May 26, after Ascension Day on Thursday May 25. With only one holiday lost to a weekend this year, the usual crowd-pleasers — Easter, Ascension and Christmas — will all be busier than in 2027.
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Official sources & data
- Ferien und Feiertage (public holidays in Germany)Visit sourceFederal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) — Germany
- Public holidays in Germany 2028Visit sourcePublicHolidays.de (compiled from the official bund.de release)
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does Germany have in 2028?+
Nine nationwide — and in a rare stroke of luck, only one of them (New Year's Day, Jan 1) falls on a weekend in 2028 and is lost, since Germany has no substitute-day rule. Individual states add their own days; Bavaria reaches up to 13 in total.
Which days are public holidays in all of Germany, and which only in some states?+
Nationwide: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, German Unity Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. State-level days include Epiphany, Women's Day (Berlin), Corpus Christi, the Assumption, Reformation Day, All Saints and Buß- und Bettag (Saxony).
What happens when a German holiday falls on a weekend?+
Nothing — Germany has no substitute-day rule, so the holiday is simply lost for Monday-to-Friday workers. In 2028 this happens only once: New Year's Day on Saturday, January 1.
When is Easter in Germany in 2028?+
Good Friday is April 14 and Easter Monday is April 17, 2028 — a four-day weekend nationwide, and the only four-day holiday break of the year.
What is a Brückentag?+
A "bridge day" — the working day between a holiday and the weekend, taken as vacation. In 2028, Friday May 26 (after Ascension Day) is the classic example: one vacation day yields four days off.
Is December 24 (Christmas Eve) a public holiday in Germany?+
No. Neither Dec 24 nor Dec 31 is a public holiday, but most shops close around 2pm on both days, and many offices give staff the day off. In 2028, Dec 24 falls on a Sunday and Dec 25–26 are both public holidays, so most shops stay closed from Sunday afternoon until Dec 27.
