In this article, De-Sf.Info will consider the following topic: school holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2024-2025, 2025-2026, 2026-2027. We will also list all the holidays when teachers and students have a break from classes. We will provide the exact dates of the beginning and end of the autumn, Christmas, Easter and summer holidays, additional free days on Pentecost.
When schoolchildren take a break from classes in North Rhine-Westphalia
In the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, children have only four holiday periods. This is the smallest number of all German countries. School holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia:
- Autumn holidays.
- Christmas holidays.
- Easter holidays.
- Summer holidays.
Sometimes the school holidays include an extra day off for Pentecost. This is the Tuesday after Holy Monday, but in some years it is a school day. Also, in this land there are no fixed “bridge days”. Instead, there are 3-4 floating days off in each school year.
IMPORTANT! Flexible or floating non-school days are determined by a school conference in consultation with the school administration. Their dates are determined at least 8 weeks before the start of summer vacation. Check with your school to find out when and how many additional non-school days you or your child will have.
The Ministry of Education of North Rhine-Westphalia wants the flexible days to be the same for all schools. At the same time, it stipulates that one flexible non-school day must be timed to coincide with a local holiday or a significant date. This is a clear contradiction.
In addition to school holidays, schools are closed on public holidays. We have listed their exact dates for each school year below. Some holidays fall on school holidays or weekends, but we have included them in the lists as well.
School holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2024-2025
This section shows the school holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2024-2025. In addition to the dates listed, there are four flexible non-school days this school year.
- Summer holidays 2024: Monday, July 8, 2024 to Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
- Autumn Break 2024: Monday, October 14, 2024 to Saturday, October 26, 2024.
- Christmas holidays 2024-2025: Monday, December 23, 2024 to Monday, January 6, 2025.
- Easter holidays 2025: Monday, April 14, 2025 to Saturday, April 26, 2025.
- Pentecost 2025: Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
- Summer holidays 2025: Monday, July 14, 2025 to Tuesday, August 26, 2025.
Public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2024-2025
Here are the dates of public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia in the 2024-2025 school year. All educational institutions are closed on these dates.
- October 3, 2024 (Thursday) – Day of German Unity.
- November 1, 2024 (Friday) – All Saints’ Day.
- December 25, 2024 (Wednesday) – First Day of Christmas.
- December 26, 2024 (Thursday) – Second Day of Christmas.
- January 1, 2025 (Wednesday) – New Year.
- April 18, 2025 (Friday) – Good Friday.
- April 21, 2025 (Monday) – Easter Monday.
- May 1, 2025 (Thursday) – Labor Day.
- May 29, 2025 (Thursday) – Ascension of Christ.
- June 9, 2025 (Monday) – Spiritual Monday.
- June 19, 2025 (Thursday) – Corpus Christi Feast.
School holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2025-2026
Below are the school holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2025-2026. In addition to the dates listed, schoolchildren will have three floating days off. These are determined by the educational institution.
- Summer holidays 2025: Monday, July 14, 2025 to Tuesday, August 26, 2025.
- Autumn Break 2025: Monday, October 13, 2025 to Saturday, October 25, 2025.
- Christmas holidays 2025-2026: Monday, December 22, 2025 to Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
- Easter holidays 2026: Monday, March 30, 2026 to Saturday, April 11, 2026.
- Pentecost 2026: Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
- Summer holidays 2026: Monday, July 20, 2026 to Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
Public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2025-2026
Here are the official public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia in the 2025-2026 school year. On these dates, schools are closed for teachers, students and staff.
- October 3, 2025 (Friday) – Day of German Unity.
- November 1, 2025 (Saturday) – All Saints’ Day.
- December 25, 2025 (Thursday) – First Day of Christmas.
- December 26, 2025 (Friday) – Second Day of Christmas.
- January 1, 2026 (Thursday) – New Year.
- April 3, 2026 (Friday) – Good Friday.
- April 6, 2026 (Monday) – Easter Monday.
- May 1, 2026 (Friday) – Labor Day.
- May 14, 2026 (Thursday) – Ascension of Christ.
- May 25, 2026 (Monday) – Spiritual Monday.
- June 4, 2026 (Thursday) – Corpus Christi Feast.
School holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2026-2027
This section contains the official school holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2026-2027. In addition, children have three floating non-school days. We remind you that these must be determined eight weeks before the summer holidays of 2026.
- Summer holidays 2026: Monday, July 20, 2026 to Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
- Fall Break 2026: Saturday, October 17, 2026 to Saturday, October 31, 2026.
- Christmas holidays 2026-2027: from Wednesday, December 23, 2026 to Wednesday, January 6, 2027.
- Easter holidays 2027: Monday, March 22, 2027 to Saturday, April 3, 2027.
- Pentecost 2027: Tuesday, May 18, 2027.
- Summer holidays 2027: Monday, July 19, 2027 to Tuesday, August 31, 2027.
Public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2026-2027
Below we publish the dates of legal public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia in the 2026-2027 school year. On these days there are no classes, all children are off from school.
- October 3, 2026 (Saturday) – Day of German Unity.
- November 1, 2026 (Sunday) – All Saints’ Day.
- December 25, 2026 (Friday) – First Day of Christmas.
- December 26, 2026 (Saturday) – Second Day of Christmas.
- January 1, 2027 (Friday) – New Year.
- March 26, 2027 (Friday) – Good Friday.
- March 29, 2027 (Monday) – Easter Monday.
- May 1, 2027 (Saturday) – Labor Day.
- May 6, 2027 (Thursday) – Ascension of Christ.
- May 17, 2027 (Monday) – Spiritual Monday.
- May 27, 2027 (Thursday) – Corpus Christi Feast.
In this publication, De-Sf.Info told about school holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. We gave the exact dates of the beginning and end of the rest periods for German children. We also listed public holidays on which schools are closed. We hope you found what you were looking for. Don’t forget to share this information with your friends!