Hamburg school holidays 2026: term dates and calendar

Hamburg public holidays 2026

Hamburg schools close on the city state's statutory public holidays in addition to the school holidays. Several are tied to Easter and fall in spring. The 2026 dates are below.

Hamburg does not have a long Easter holiday in the way some countries do. Instead Good Friday and Easter Monday are single public holiday closures, and the longer break sits in March as the spring holiday.

State school holiday dates 2026

The Hamburg school authority publishes the city's Schulferien. For 2026 the spring, Whitsun, summer, autumn and Christmas breaks are below. Hamburg's summer break is one of the earlier ones in Germany, starting in July, because the federal states rotate their summer dates each year to spread holiday traffic.

Teaching continues between these breaks, with the school year running from the end of the summer holiday in August through to the start of the next summer break the following July. The spring and autumn breaks act as the half term equivalents.

International school term dates

International schools in Hamburg, led by the International School of Hamburg, run a northern hemisphere August to June year that broadly tracks the Hamburg state breaks but aligns its longer Christmas and summer holidays to the international school pattern. A representative 2025 to 2026 shape is below.

These schools close for Hamburg public holidays and usually mirror the state spring and autumn breaks, so families with children in both state and international schools see closely overlapping calendars. For how the curricula compare, see our curriculum guides, and for the national picture our Germany country guide.

Planning the year

Two planning notes. First, because German states stagger their summer holidays, Hamburg's early July start can mean cheaper and less crowded travel than states that break later, so it is worth using that window. Second, the spring break in March and the autumn break in October are the natural short trip windows and line up with many other northern European breaks. When you are ready to compare schools by curriculum and district, the Hamburg schools directory lists them side by side.

Exam season and where families settle

Examination timing in Hamburg depends on the system. State schools work towards the Abitur, with written papers in spring, so the months before the summer holiday carry the heaviest load for senior students. International schools sit IB Diploma and IGCSE examinations in May and June, a comparable window, after which senior cohorts finish ahead of the summer break. Expatriate families tend to settle in the western and northern districts such as Othmarschen, Blankenese, Nienstedten and the Alster lake suburbs, where the International School of Hamburg and the bilingual options sit within reach. Because German states rotate their summer dates, checking the exam timetable against Hamburg's specific spring, summer and autumn breaks is the best way to find the weeks that are actually open for family travel. It also pays to confirm each school's own in service days, because Hamburg schools place a small number of teacher training days through the year that fall outside the published Schulferien and can close individual classes if you have not checked the school calendar in advance.

Common questions

When do schools break up in Hamburg? Hamburg state schools break for the spring holiday from 2 to 13 March 2026, for Whitsun from 11 to 15 May, for the summer from 9 July to 19 August, for the autumn from 19 to 30 October, and for Christmas from 21 December 2026.

How long is the summer holiday in Hamburg? The Hamburg summer holiday runs from 9 July to 19 August 2026, about six and a half weeks, which is typical for German states.

When does the 2026 school year start in Hamburg? The new school year begins after the summer holiday ends, so teaching resumes on 20 August 2026. Individual schools confirm the exact first day.

Does Hamburg have an Easter holiday? No long one. Good Friday on 3 April and Easter Monday on 6 April 2026 are single public holidays, while the longer break is the spring holiday in March.

Why are Hamburg's holidays different from other German cities? Germany staggers school summer holidays by federal state to spread travel demand, so Hamburg's dates rotate each year and differ from neighbouring states like Lower Saxony or Berlin.

Related guides

• Hamburg city guide
• Germany country guide
• Munich school holidays 2026
• Berlin school holidays 2026