Sundays and public holidays: closed shops and quiet streets

Newcomers commonly notice how different Sundays feel:

• Shops are closed. In Berlin, for example, shops may open around the clock from Monday to Saturday but must generally close on Sundays and public holidays.
• Some things stay open. In Berlin, bakeries, florists, newsagents and shops selling dairy products may open on Sundays from 7:00 to 16:00; petrol stations, pharmacies and shops in railway stations, airports and bus terminals are not restricted; and the city allows up to eight Sunday shopping days a year (13:00 to 20:00), never on 1 May, Good Friday or Easter Sunday.
• It is quieter. Berlin's noise law protects rest on Sundays and public holidays: noise that considerably disturbs others is not allowed, and motorised lawnmowers may not be used at all on those days.
• Holidays differ by region. A colleague in another federal state may have a day off when you do not.

The day of rest has constitutional status. The Basic Law incorporates Article 139 of the 1919 Weimar Constitution, which protects Sundays and state-recognised public holidays as days of rest from work and of "spiritual elevation" (Art. 140 GG). Shop-opening and noise rules build on that protection.

Public holidays are set mainly by the federal states, so the number varies. deutschland.de (2026) notes that Bavaria has the most, with twelve, and that many employees also do not work on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve even though these are not public holidays. Berlin's holidays in 2026 include International Women's Day on 8 March, alongside the widely shared ones such as New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, the Day of German Unity (3 October) and Christmas.

• State rules: shop-opening hours, Sunday shopping days and the list of holidays are set by each federal state; Berlin's rules above are one example.
• Religious holidays: some days are treated as especially quiet; Berlin, for example, never allows Sunday shopping openings on Good Friday or Easter Sunday.
• Exceptions for work: the day of rest does not mean nobody works; hospitals, public transport, restaurants and many other services run on Sundays.