School holidays in Germany: 2024 and 2025

For parents who live and work in Germany, it is crucial to mark school holidays on the calendar to organize the necessary family activities or childcare arrangements. German schools have seasonal holiday breaks, including a long summer break, plus holidays for Christmas and Easter.

To plan your upcoming vacation, learn more about the below topics:

School holidays in Germany

School holidays in Germany are set at the regional level by each federal state. Each state will have holidays for the following times of year:

• Autumn holiday (Herbstferien)
• Christmas (Weihnachtsferien)
• Easter (Osterferien)
• Summer (Sommerferien)

Schools in most states also have a winter break (Winterferien) around February. Additionally, a few states have a break of about one to two weeks for Pentecost (Pfingstferien) in May/June. There are also days off throughout the year which varies between states.

Each state sets the exact dates for all school holidays in Germany, although they need to fall within a certain time period.

Holiday dates at private international schools in Germany may be slightly different from public schools’ days off, although they will roughly coincide. Check with your child’s school for details.

German school holidays are often used as a time for families to get together and celebrate festive holidays such as Easter and Christmas, go away on family vacations or visit some of the best spots in the country. Holidays may also coincide with regional days of celebration or German carnival periods.

German school holiday dates 2024–2025

When does the German school year start?

The German school year starts on different days depending on your location:

• Baden-Württemberg: 9 September 2024
• Bavaria: 10 September 2024
• Berlin: 2 September 2024
• Brandenburg: 2 September 2024
• Bremen: 2 August 2024
• Hamburg: 29 August 2024
• Hesse: 26 August 2024
• Lower Saxony: 5 August 2024
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: 2 September 2024
• North Rhine-Westphalia: 21 August 2024
• Rhineland–Palatinate: 26 August 2024
• Saarland: 26 August 2024
• Saxony: 5 August 2024
• Saxony-Anhalt: 5 August 2024
• Schleswig-Holstein: 2 September 2024
• Thuringia: 1 August 2024

Below are the school holidays for Germany’s 16 states, split by north and south sections of the country.

North Germany school holiday dates 2024–2025

	Autumn Break	Christmas break	Winter break	Easter/Spring break	Summer break
Berlin	21 October – 2 November 2024	23–31 December 2024	3–8 February 2025	14–25 April 2025	24 July – 6 September 2025
Brandenburg	21 October – 2 November 2024	23–31 December 2024	3–8 February 2025	14–25 April 2025	24 July – 6 September 2025
Bremen	4–19 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 4 January 2025	3–4 February 2025	7–19 April 2025	3 July – 13 August 2025
Hamburg	21 October – 1 November 2024	20 December 2024 – 3 January 2025	31 January 2025	10–21 March 2025	24 July – 3 September 2025
Lower Saxony	4–19 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 4 January 2025	1–2 February 2025	7–19 April 2025	3 July – 13 August 2025
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	21–26 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 6 January 2025	3–14 February 2025	14–23 April 2025	28 July – 6 September 2025
North Rhine-Westphalia	14–26 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 6 January 2025	No winter break	14–26 April 2025	14 July – 26 August 2025
Saxony-Anhalt	30–12 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 4 January 2025	27–31 January 2025	7–19 April 2025	28 June – 8 August 2025
Schleswig-Holstein	21 October – 1 November 2024	19 December 2024 – 7 January 2025	No winter break	11–25 April 2025	28 July – 6 September 2025

South Germany school holiday dates 2024–2025

	Autumn Break	Christmas break	Winter/Spring break	Easter break	Summer break
Baden-Württemberg	28–30 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 4 January 2025	No winter break	14–26 April 2025	25 July – 7 September 2025
Bavaria	28–31 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 3 January 2025	3–7 March 2025	14–25 April 2025	1 August – 15 September 2025
Hesse	14–25 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 10 January 2025	No winter break	7–21 April 2025	7 July – 15 August 2025
Rhineland-Palatinate	14–25 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 8 January 2025	No winter break	14–25 April 2025	7 July – 15 August 2025
Saarland	14–25 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 3 January 2025	24 February – 4 March 2025	14–25 April 2025	7 July – 14 August 2025
Saxony	7–19 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 3 January 2025	17 February – 1 March 2025	18–25 April 2025	28 June – 8 August 2025
Thuringia	30 September – 12 October 2024	23 December 2024 – 3 January 2025	3–8 February 2025	7–19 April 2025	28 June – 8 August 2025

All dates are subject to change

You can find full details of holiday dates for both 2024 and 2025 by checking with your child’s school.

Additional holidays and days off in 2024 and 2025

The above dates are those that generally apply to German schools each year, but there are additional days throughout the year when there may be no school. For example, students have time off for Ascension Day (Himmelfahrt) on 29 May 2025 and Pentecost (Pfingsten) on 8–9 June 2025. Your school may provide days off or even a short break.

Additionally, there may be holidays on the following occasions:

• Regional public holidays in Germany
• Religious days where children of certain faiths are granted time off
• Staff training days or pupil book days (vary depending on the school)

For specific dates, check with your local school or have a look on the school website. Many schools have calendars on their websites, which list all dates when there is no school.

Childcare during school holidays in Germany

If you are a working parent, you may find yourself in the position of having to find childcare during the holidays if you can’t (or don’t want to) take time off work and leaving the kids with relatives or friends isn’t an option. The main options in Germany are:

• Daycare nurseries (horts): Provide out-of-hours school care for primary school children in Germany. This normally takes place after school hours, but many German horts also run holiday provision that includes a range of fun activities. They are primarily for primary school children but in some cases will take children up until the age of 14. You can find information about nursery provision in your area from your child’s school or your local authority. You can also search for nurseries through Kita.
• Summer camps: For older children, there are summer camps that run adventure, sports, and language activities. Many of these are popular with expat children in Germany, such as Camp Adventure international summer camp which runs activities for children aged up to 19.
• Paying for an individual carer: You could employ a childminder, nanny, babysitter, or au pair. You can find a babysitter in your area on Babysitter.de.

Prices and availability for nurseries and summer camps vary so it’s advisable to book at the earliest opportunity.