Why are there differences in the start of holidays in Germany?

2025-07-22 08:11:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Why don't all students and schools in Germany have summer vacation at the same time?

Around 11.4 million children and young people attend school in Germany. If they and their families all went on holiday at the same time, the result would be even greater traffic congestion on motorways, trains and overcrowded hotels.

This is why Germany's 16 states start their holidays at different times. For example, in Saxony, the six-week summer holidays in 2025 will start at the end of June, while in Bavaria they will start at the beginning of August.

This extended summer vacation period is also in the interest of the tourism sector. Hotels, beaches and amusement parks have visitors for several months and not just one or two months when it is vacation.

Who decides when the state holidays are?
Education in Germany is the responsibility of the states, not the federal government, so the states decide, not the federal government in Berlin. Therefore, the states are the ones who make independent decisions about school holidays.

However, the education ministers of all 16 states coordinate with each other in the so-called Conference of Education Ministers (Kultusministerkonferenz). There, they plan the holiday dates together several years in advance. For more than 50 years, they have tried to harmonize all interests in this way.

The duration of lessons should be approximately the same in all countries. Schools also need sufficient time for exams and tests before vacations and holidays.

Why is there a fight every year?
Because each state would like to have the best dates for vacation. So, not only enough time for exams, but also as much sun as possible, cheap flights and cheaper hotels for vacation. And the prices and conditions differ from mid-July to the end of August.

Therefore, there is a dispute between state representatives about which of them will have the best time for vacations and the best prices for travel.

However, the biggest disagreements are with the states: Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, both in southern Germany. They do not want to be included in the rotation, but always want their holidays to be the last.

Previously, these days were justified by the fact that children in schools in agricultural regions had to help with the summer harvest. Today they refer to the Pentecost holiday.

Is there a solution on the horizon?
Not yet. For years, representatives of other states have been calling on Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg to cooperate. For example, the Education Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Dorothee Feller, stated in an interview with the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung: "NRW would also like the holidays to start later."

However, year after year, these two southern states reject such proposals. Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder of the conservative CSU has also rejected these proposals in recent statements. He said in the current debate: "We have our own holiday rhythm, which is, so to speak, engraved in the Bavarian DNA."

But even if Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were to change their minds, the change would only be possible after five years - because all the dates have been agreed for the next five years.

Does this problem exist in other countries as well?
Germany is not the only country where summer holidays start and end at different times. In the Netherlands, for example, there are three regional areas with different summer holiday starts. However, the holidays there differ by at most two weeks, while the schedules are set by the central Ministry of Education.

In some other countries, such as the UK, the rotation system has been discussed for a long time. Some other countries, such as France, also have a separate start to the holidays - but there are no differences for the long summer holidays.

The annual debate about when the holidays start between southern Germany and the rest of the country remains a summer ritual in this country, a perennial German topic./ DW