Bridge days 2027 in Germany: holidays, leave planning and trips

2027 is not a year with many free bridges: four of the nine nationwide holidays fall on a weekend, namely 1 May (Saturday), 3 October (Sunday) and both Christmas days. You can still plan smartly. With just 4 days of leave around Easter you get 10 days off in a row, and Ascension Day on Thursday, 6 May, turns into a four-day weekend with a single day. Here are all 2027 holidays with weekdays, a table by state, checked bridge-day calculations and trip ideas for every window.

Bridge days 2027 at a glance

Nationwide holidays	9, of which 5 fall on a weekday (1 Jan, 26 Mar, 29 Mar, 6 May, 17 May) and 4 on a weekend (1 May, 3 Oct, 25 Dec, 26 Dec)
Best bridge for everyone	Friday, 7 May: 1 leave day, 4 days off (Thu 6 May to Sun 9 May)
Biggest lever	Easter: 4 leave days for 10 days off, 8 leave days for 16 days off (Sat 20 Mar to Sun 4 Apr)
Only in some states	Epiphany (Wed 6 Jan), Women's Day (Mon 8 Mar), Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May), World Children's Day (Mon 20 Sep), All Saints (Mon 1 Nov), Day of Prayer and Repentance (Wed 17 Nov)
Weak months	October (3 Oct is a Sunday) and December (Christmas falls on the weekend)

We assume a five-day week from Monday to Friday. Christmas Eve (Friday, 24 Dec) and New Year's Eve (Friday, 31 Dec) are not statutory holidays in the lists we checked. Whether you have them off depends on your employer or collective agreement, so we count them as normal leave days.

National public holidays 2027

Nine holidays apply in all 16 German states. Easter Sunday 2027 is on 28 March, and Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension and Whitsun follow from it.

Holiday	Date 2027	Weekday	Bridge?
New Year's Day	1 January	Friday	no, the weekend follows directly
Good Friday	26 March	Friday	long Easter weekend together with Easter Monday
Easter Monday	29 March	Monday	4 leave days give 10 days off
Labour Day	1 May	Saturday	weekend, no day off
Ascension Day	6 May	Thursday	yes, bridge day Friday 7 May
Whit Monday	17 May	Monday	yes, Tuesday to Friday afterwards
German Unity Day	3 October	Sunday	weekend, no day off
Christmas Day	25 December	Saturday	weekend, no day off
Second Christmas Day	26 December	Sunday	weekend, no day off

Looking at the weekdays, 2027 is good in spring and thin in autumn and winter. The best bridges sit between March and May.

Public holidays by state 2027

On top of the nine nationwide holidays, individual states have more. The table lists only those relevant for 2027 and shows how many holidays in total fall on a weekday. A holiday that lands on a Sunday gives you no day off.

State	Additional holidays 2027	Holidays on weekdays
Baden-Württemberg	Epiphany (Wed 6 Jan), Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May), All Saints (Mon 1 Nov)	8
Bavaria	Epiphany (Wed 6 Jan), Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May), All Saints (Mon 1 Nov); Assumption only in mainly Catholic municipalities (Sun 15 Aug)	8
Berlin	International Women's Day (Mon 8 Mar)	6
Brandenburg	Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct, falls on the weekend)	5
Bremen	Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct)	5
Hamburg	Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct)	5
Hesse	Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May)	6
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	International Women's Day (Mon 8 Mar); Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct)	6
Lower Saxony	Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct)	5
North Rhine-Westphalia	Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May), All Saints (Mon 1 Nov)	7
Rhineland-Palatinate	Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May), All Saints (Mon 1 Nov)	7
Saarland	Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May), All Saints (Mon 1 Nov); Assumption (Sun 15 Aug)	7
Saxony	Day of Prayer and Repentance (Wed 17 Nov); Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct); Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May) only in designated municipalities	6
Saxony-Anhalt	Epiphany (Wed 6 Jan); Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct)	6
Schleswig-Holstein	Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct)	5
Thuringia	World Children's Day (Mon 20 Sep); Reformation Day (Sun 31 Oct); Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May) only in designated municipalities	6

A few notes on partial holidays: Corpus Christi is a statutory holiday in Saxony and Thuringia only in certain municipalities, and the Assumption of Mary in Bavaria only in municipalities with a mainly Catholic population. Check with your municipality or employer whether your town is included. The Day of Prayer and Repentance is not a holiday in Bavaria, but schools are closed that day. Augsburg also has its Peace Festival on Sunday, 8 August. The numbers in the last column count only holidays that apply to the whole state.

Bridge days 2027: how many leave days give how many days off?

The periods were calculated with a script and then checked by hand. Only weekdays from Monday to Friday that are neither a holiday nor a weekend count as leave days.

Period	Occasion	Leave days	Days off in a row	Applies in
Fri 1 Jan–Sun 10 Jan	New Year (with Epiphany on Wed 6 Jan)	5 (in BW, BY, ST: 4)	10	all states
Sat 6 Mar–Sun 14 Mar	Women's Day (Mon 8 Mar)	4 (9.–12.3.)	9	only BE, MV
Sat 20 Mar–Mon 29 Mar	Good Friday and Easter Monday	4 (22.–25.3.)	10	all states
Fri 26 Mar–Sun 4 Apr	Good Friday and Easter Monday	4 (30.3.–2.4.)	10	all states
Sat 20 Mar–Sun 4 Apr	Easter, both bridges combined	8	16	all states
Thu 6 May–Sun 9 May	Ascension Day	1 (Fr 7.5.)	4	all states
Sat 1 May–Sun 9 May	Ascension Day (1 May is a Saturday)	4 (3., 4., 5., 7.5.)	9	all states
Sat 15 May–Sun 23 May	Whit Monday (17 May)	4 (18.–21.5.)	9	all states
Sat 1 May–Sun 23 May	Ascension and Whitsun in one go	13	23	all states
Thu 27 May–Sun 30 May	Corpus Christi (Thu 27 May)	1 (Fr 28.5.)	4	Corpus Christi states*
Sat 15 May–Sun 30 May	Whit Monday plus Corpus Christi	8	16	Corpus Christi states*
Sat 18 Sep–Sun 26 Sep	World Children's Day (Mon 20 Sep)	4 (21.–24.9.)	9	only TH
Sat 30 Oct–Sun 7 Nov	All Saints (Mon 1 Nov)	4 (2.–5.11.)	9	BW, BY, NW, RP, SL
Sat 13 Nov–Sun 21 Nov	Day of Prayer and Repentance (Wed 17 Nov)	4 (15., 16., 18., 19.11.)	9	only SN
Sat 25 Dec–Sun 2 Jan 2028	Christmas and New Year's Eve	5 (27.–31.12.)	9	all states
Fri 24 Dec–Sun 2 Jan 2028	same, with Christmas Eve as a leave day	6	10	all states

* Corpus Christi applies in 2027 fully or partly in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and some municipalities in Saxony and Thuringia. In states without this holiday you need one more leave day in those periods.

Rows marked "all states" work everywhere. The others apply only where the holiday really falls on a weekday.

Where to go in each window

New Year: thermal baths and city breaks (1 to 10 January)

1 January is a Friday, and Epiphany follows on Wednesday, 6 January. With 5 leave days (4 in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt) you get ten days off, which suits winter trips. Therme Erding near Munich is billed as the world's largest thermal spa, with a palm-fringed pool and sauna area. Caracalla Therme in Baden-Baden has a round dome and warm outdoor pools. For museums, plan a day on Museum Island in Berlin, with one day ticket for all five houses. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Partnach Gorge is a winter sight with icicles. More ideas are in our guide to winter day trips in Germany.

Easter: 10 days for 4 leave days (20 March to 4 April)

Good Friday is 26 March, Easter Monday 29 March. This is the strongest lever of the year: take Monday to Thursday before it (22 to 25 March) and you are off for ten days. Take the week after (30 March to 2 April) instead and you also get ten days. Both together give 16 days off for 8 leave days. School Easter holidays differ by state, so check them with your education ministry. They are not part of this calculation.

• City break: Heidelberg Castle is a red sandstone ruin with views over the old town and the Neckar. For Potsdam, try Sanssouci Palace in its UNESCO park.
• Nature: The Spreewald is an hour from Berlin, with more than 970 km of waterways for punt trips from Lübbenau.
• Seaside: Binz on Rügen has five kilometres of sandy beach and resort architecture. In Mecklenburg, Kühlungsborn has a promenade of over three kilometres.

May: Ascension and Whitsun (1 to 23 May)

May 2027 is the best month to plan. 1 May is a Saturday, Ascension Day is Thursday, 6 May, and Whit Monday is 17 May. Three variants work in every state:

• Short: 1 leave day (Friday, 7 May) gives four days off.
• Medium: 4 leave days (3, 4, 5 and 7 May) give 9 days from Saturday, 1 May, to Sunday, 9 May. The same recipe works at Whitsun (18 to 21 May, 9 days from Sat 15 May to Sun 23 May).
• Long: 13 leave days link both into 23 days off from 1 to 23 May.

For nature, try Saxon Switzerland with about 400 km of hiking trails and the Bastei, Jasmund National Park with the chalk cliffs on Rügen, or the Müritz National Park with over a hundred lakes. For a castle trip, consider Neuschwanstein Castle (guided tours only, best with an online ticket), Schwerin Palace on an island in the lake and Eltz Castle in the Elzbach valley.

Corpus Christi: mountains in the south (27 to 30 May)

Corpus Christi on Thursday, 27 May, is a holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, among others. One leave day on Friday makes a four-day weekend. If you already take time off at Whitsun, you can link both: 8 leave days give 16 days off from 15 to 30 May. Southerners head for the mountains: the Zugspitze (2,962 metres) is reached by cable car from Lake Eibsee or by cog railway from Garmisch. Lake Königssee in Berchtesgaden National Park is crossed by electric boats, and Lake Titisee in the High Black Forest has a lakeside promenade and a circular path.

Autumn: All Saints, Day of Prayer and Repentance, World Children's Day

In autumn only regional holidays create bridges. All Saints on Monday, 1 November, applies in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Four leave days (2 to 5 November) give nine days off from Saturday, 30 October, to Sunday, 7 November. Fitting destinations are Hohenzollern Castle on the Swabian Jura, Eifel National Park with beech forests and Lake Urft, Eltz Castle and Herrenchiemsee Palace. More ideas for the season are in our autumn trips in Germany.

The Day of Prayer and Repentance (Wednesday, 17 November) is a day off only in Saxony. With 2 leave days (15 and 16 November) you get five days, with 4 leave days nine. A Dresden weekend fits: Frauenkirche, Zwinger and Panometer combine well over two days. In Thuringia, World Children's Day on Monday, 20 September, is a holiday. With 4 leave days (21 to 24 September) you reach nine days off, for example for Wartburg Castle or the Krämerbrücke in Erfurt.

Christmas and New Year: port city or island

Both Christmas days fall on the weekend (Saturday, 25 December, and Sunday, 26 December). Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are Fridays. With 5 leave days (27 to 31 December) you get nine days from Saturday, 25 December, to Sunday, 2 January 2028. If you count Christmas Eve as a leave day too, it is 6 days for 10 days off. Ideas: the Speicherstadt and Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, the Red Cliff on Sylt on a winter walk, or a day in the tropical hall of Tropical Islands south of Berlin.

Keep the trip: When you plan your route, create a poster with your travel route with us, for example for a short Ascension trip or the Easter week.

How to plan the 2027 bridges

• Submit leave early: The bridges around Easter, Ascension and Whitsun are popular with colleagues. Agree on dates before hotels get expensive.
• Check school holidays: Easter and Whitsun holidays differ by state. Find the 2027 dates at the relevant education ministry.
• Book early: Book accommodation and train tickets for the long weekends as soon as your leave is approved.
• Mind holidays at your destination: Regional holidays apply only in their own state. Check opening hours at your destination before you travel.

Frequently asked questions

Which holidays fall on a weekend in 2027?

Nationwide, 1 May (Saturday), 3 October (Sunday), Christmas Day (Saturday, 25 December) and Second Christmas Day (Sunday, 26 December). Regionally, Reformation Day (31 October), the Assumption (15 August) and the Augsburg Peace Festival (8 August) also fall on a Sunday.

How many leave days do I need for 10 days off?

Around Easter, 4 leave days are enough: either Monday to Thursday before Good Friday (22 to 25 March, off from Sat 20 Mar to Mon 29 Mar) or the days after Easter Monday (30 March to 2 April, off from Fri 26 Mar to Sun 4 Apr). At New Year you need 5 leave days (4 in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt), around Christmas 6 days including Christmas Eve.

Which bridge days are best in 2027?

The Friday after Ascension Day (7 May) is the simplest bridge: 1 leave day, 4 days off. Easter has the biggest effect with 4 leave days for 10 days off. In states with Corpus Christi, Friday, 28 May, also gives a long weekend. October has no bridge for everyone because 3 October is a Sunday.

When is Easter in 2027?

Easter Sunday is on 28 March 2027. Good Friday is 26 March, Easter Monday 29 March. Whit Sunday is 16 May, Whit Monday 17 May.

Which holidays apply in all German states?

New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, German Unity Day and the first and second Christmas days. All others are set by the states, so the number of weekday holidays differs from state to state (between 5 in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein and 8 in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria).

Are Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve public holidays?

In the state holiday lists we checked, 24 and 31 December are not statutory holidays. In 2027 both fall on a Friday. Whether you are off or work half a day is up to your employer.

Further reading

Still looking for the right destination? Our lists Winter day trips in Germany and Autumn trips in Germany help you choose. With the route poster your plan becomes a souvenir for the wall.

As of 26 October 2026. State laws can change holidays. We will check the list again before the start of 2027.

Sources

• https://www.feiertage-deutschland.de/2027/
• https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesetzliche_Feiertage_in_Deutschland
• https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/BayFTG-1

Image credits

• Photo: Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Photo: Pascal Volk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cover)