One day of leave, four days off: few calculations are as popular in Germany as the one with bridge days (Brückentage). If you place your vacation days cleverly around public holidays, you get far more free time out of 30 days of leave than by spreading them evenly over the year. This guide explains how bridge days work, which combinations pay off in 2026, 2027 and 2028 and what to keep in mind when planning. As of October 2026.
What is a bridge day?
A bridge day is a single working day between a public holiday and the weekend. Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday, so the Friday after it is the classic bridge day: take it off and you have four days in a row from Thursday to Sunday. In a wider sense, longer bridges count too, such as the four working days before Good Friday or the week between Christmas and New Year.
The term is not a legal one. Legally, a bridge day is a normal working day for which you request leave. Only if your company closes on that day is it called a company closure (Betriebsurlaub). More on that in the article Taking a Bridge Day Off: Leave Requests, Company Closures and Your Rights.
How much a bridge day gives you: the ratio
How worthwhile a bridge is shows in the ratio of days off to vacation days used. The bridge days calculator calls it the ratio:
A normal week of leave from Monday to Friday gives you 9 days off for 5 vacation days including both weekends, a ratio of 1.8. Anything above that is a gain. How high it is depends on the weekday of the holiday:
| Holiday falls on | Take off | Days off | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Monday (1 day) | 4 (Sat–Tue) | 4.0 |
| Thursday | Friday (1 day) | 4 (Thu–Sun) | 4.0 |
| Wednesday | Mon + Tue or Thu + Fri (2 days) | 5 | 2.5 |
| Monday or Friday | no leave needed | 3 (long weekend) | – |
| Monday or Friday | the other 4 days of the week | 9 | 2.25 |
| Easter (Good Friday + Easter Monday) | 4 days before or after Easter | 10 | 2.5 |
| Easter | 8 days (both weeks) | 16 | 2.0 |
If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is lost for vacation planners. Unlike some neighbouring countries, Germany has no substitute holiday on the following Monday. That is exactly why the years differ so much.
Bridge days 2026: what is still possible
2026 is almost over. Reformation Day (31 October) and All Saints' Day (1 November) fall on Saturday and Sunday. Two dates are still interesting:
- Day of Repentance and Prayer (Saxony only): Wednesday, 18 November 2026. With Monday and Tuesday (16–17 Nov) or Thursday and Friday (19–20 Nov) as leave you get 5 days off.
- Christmas and New Year: Christmas Day is a Friday, Boxing Day a Saturday and New Year's Day 2027 a Friday again. With 4 vacation days from 28 to 31 December you are off from 25 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, i.e. 10 days. If you also take 21 to 24 December, 8 vacation days become 16 days off (19 Dec 2026 to 3 Jan 2027).
Note: Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are not public holidays in Germany. Many employers still give the day or half the day off; then you need less leave.
Bridge days 2027: the best dates
2027 is a weak holiday year. Labour Day (1 May) is a Saturday; German Unity Day, Reformation Day, Assumption Day and both Christmas holidays fall on a Sunday or Saturday. Depending on the state, only 5 to 8 holidays fall on a weekday. That makes the remaining dates all the more valuable. Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027, which sets all the movable holidays.
| Holiday 2027 | Take off | Off | States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epiphany, Wed 6 Jan | Mon 4, Tue 5, Thu 7, Fri 8 Jan (4 days) | 1–10 Jan (10 days) | BW, BY, ST |
| Good Friday/Easter Monday, 26/29 Mar | Mon 22–Thu 25 Mar (4 days) | 20–29 Mar (10 days) | all |
| Long Easter | 22–25 Mar and 30 Mar–2 Apr (8 days) | 20 Mar–4 Apr (16 days) | all |
| Ascension Day, Thu 6 May | Fri 7 May (1 day) | 6–9 May (4 days) | all |
| Ascension to Whitsun | Fri 7 May and Mon 10–Fri 14 May (6 days) | 6–17 May (12 days) | all |
| Corpus Christi, Thu 27 May | Fri 28 May (1 day) | 27–30 May (4 days) | BW, BY, HE, NW, RP, SL |
| All Saints' Day, Mon 1 Nov | Tue 2–Fri 5 Nov (4 days) | 30 Oct–7 Nov (9 days) | BW, BY, NW, RP, SL |
| Day of Repentance, Wed 17 Nov | Mon 15–Tue 16 Nov (2 days) | 13–17 Nov (5 days) | SN |
Without any leave, 2027 has long weekends at New Year (Friday, 1 January), Easter (Good Friday to Easter Monday), Whitsun (Whit Monday, 17 May), in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on International Women's Day (Monday, 8 March), in Thuringia on World Children's Day (Monday, 20 September) and in five states on All Saints' Day (Monday, 1 November).
The longest break for 10 vacation days in 2027 runs from Ascension Day to the Sunday after Whitsun: leave on 7 May, 10–14 May and 18–21 May gives 18 days off from 6 to 23 May. All 2027 holidays with dates are listed in the article Public Holidays in Germany 2027.
Bridge days 2028: a top year
2028 turns things around. 1 May is a Monday, German Unity Day and Reformation Day fall on a Tuesday and Christmas on Monday and Tuesday. Depending on the state, 9 to 11 holidays fall on a weekday. One bridge day each then gives you four days off at Ascension (Fri 26 May), Corpus Christi (Fri 16 June), 3 October (Mon 2 Oct) and Reformation Day (Mon 30 Oct). Details are in the article Bridge Days 2028.
Six steps to your bridge day plan
- Check your entitlement: By law you get at least 24 Werktage on a 6-day week, i.e. 20 working days on a 5-day week (§ 3 Federal Leave Act, BUrlG). Many employment and collective agreements provide 25 to 30 days. The holiday entitlement calculator works out your exact figure.
- Set a budget: Decide how many vacation days you want to use for bridges. You usually need the rest for summer or school holidays.
- Choose your state and working days: In the bridge days calculator you set the state, the year and your working week, including part-time with single days.
- Choose a goal: "Most days off" finds the combination with the largest total of free time. "Longest break" builds in the longest possible trip first. "Best ratio" takes only the most efficient bridges first.
- Apply early: Bridge days are popular. Your employer has to take your wishes into account but may refuse for urgent operational reasons or in favour of colleagues with social priority (§ 7(1) BUrlG). Asking first usually helps.
- Keep an eye on leftover leave: Leave must generally be taken in the current calendar year. It can only be carried over to 31 March of the following year for urgent operational or personal reasons (§ 7(3) BUrlG). According to the Federal Labour Court, however, leave only expires if the employer has pointed this out in good time (BAG, judgment of 19 February 2019, 9 AZR 423/16).
Part-time and four-day week
If you do not work five days a week, your bridges are different. With a Monday-to-Thursday week, Ascension Day is already a long weekend without leave, while Good Friday falls on a day you have off anyway. Holidays on days off are not made up. The article Bridge Days for Part-Time Work and a Four-Day Week explains how to count correctly.
Common mistakes
- "Christmas Eve is a day off anyway." 24 and 31 December are not statutory public holidays. You only have them off if your contract, a collective agreement or a works agreement says so.
- "Assumption Day applies in all of Bavaria." No, only in municipalities with a predominantly Catholic population. In Saxony and Thuringia, Corpus Christi only applies in some municipalities. The calculator only counts such holidays if you tick "Count the regional holidays of my town".
- "Holidays on a weekend are made up." Not in Germany. If 3 October falls on a Sunday, it is lost for employees with a 5-day week.
- "Calling in sick on a bridge day is harmless." If you are absent without excuse on the last working day before or the first working day after a public holiday, you lose your right to be paid for the holiday (§ 2(3) Continued Remuneration Act, EntgFG).
Legal basis
Which days are public holidays is set by the holiday laws of the 16 German states. The only holiday set by federal law is German Unity Day (Art. 2(2) Unification Treaty). Leave is governed by the Federal Leave Act, pay on public holidays by § 2 of the Continued Remuneration Act. All information as of October 2026. The states can change their holiday laws; for 2027 and 2028, check the current version of your state's law if in doubt.
The bridge days calculator creates the right plan for your state and vacation days in seconds. More on week numbers and working days in the calendar week calculator and the days calculator.