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Germany's southern states are under pressure to abandon summer holiday traditions amid complaints that they enjoy an unfair advantage. DW has the latest.
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It can be quite crowded, and expensive, for German tourists on vacation in places like the island of RügenImage: Stefan Sauer/dpa/picture allianceWhat you need to know
Several German states are pushing for a shake-up of Germany's summer holiday calendar, saying the south has been keeping an unfair edge.
Critics have been arguing that families elsewhere have been stuck with peak prices while Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg enjoy their late breaks after Pentecost.
Leaders in the south have been insisting they won't budge, saying the traditional rhythm has been part of their identity for decades.
Keep up-to-date here with this and the other stories making the news in Germany on Wednesday, July 16.
07/16/2025July 16, 2025
German states push for fairer summer break rotation as Bavaria digs in
Calls for a shake-up of Germany's summer holiday timetable are growing louder, as more states push for an end to what they see as an unfair advantage for Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg — the only two states that always start their school break last.
While most of Germany's states rotate their summer holiday slots each year to ease travel chaos and spread demand for holiday accommodation, the two southern states keep their late break thanks to their traditional Catholic Pentecost holidays.
The Standing Conference of State Ministers of Education says the special rule ensures enough learning and exam time between Pentecost and the summer break.
But critics argue that families in other states are stuck with peak season prices and packed roads, while parents in the south can avoid the rush by taking advantage of the early summer Pentecost period.
"This rigid system is no longer fair," said the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia's Education Minister Dorothee Feller.
Rhineland-Palatinate's Education Minister Sven Teuber echoed her call, telling the German newspaper Bild: "Summer holidays are not a privilege for a few states. We need constructive solutions, including from those that have shown little flexibility so far."
"State uprising against extra sausage for Bavaria," was the newspaper's online headline, using a German term for preferential treatment.
Germany's holiday calendar is based on the 1964 Hamburg Agreement, which fixes the total number of school holiday days at 75 per year and sets a framework for when the summer break can start — depending on Easter and Pentecost dates.
Bavaria's Premier Markus Söder of the Christian Social Union (CSU) dismissed the calls for change. "We have our holiday rhythm — it's part of Bavaria's DNA," he said. Baden-Württemberg also shows no sign of budging, despite occasional grumbling that its late break sometimes brings chilly, autumn-like weather by early September.
What does the average German do on vacation?
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Skip next section Welcome to our coverageWelcome to our coverage from DW's newsroom in a cloudy but warm Bonn in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
You join us as a row brews over Germany's rotating summer holiday timetable.
North Rhine-Westphalia and other states in Germany complain of unfair treatment when it comes to the way that holiday dates are staggered.
They want a change to a rota aimed at easing travel chaos, saying the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have been keeping an unfair late-slot perk.
Other states say this is a headache for families elsewhere who have to juggle peak prices and childcare. However, the Catholic south is sticking firmly to a tradition rooted in the religious holiday of Pentecost.
Stay tuned here for this and other news from Germany.
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