Stuttgart school holidays 2026: term dates and calendar

Baden-Wurttemberg public holidays 2026

Schools in Stuttgart close on the public holidays observed in Baden-Wurttemberg, which has one of the fuller German holiday calendars because it keeps several Catholic feast days. The 2026 dates are:

Ascension Day on a Thursday and Corpus Christi on a Thursday both create natural bridge days, when many families take the intervening Friday and schools often schedule a movable day off. Epiphany and All Saints' Day are observed in Baden-Wurttemberg but not in every German state, which is one reason the Stuttgart calendar differs from, say, Berlin or Hamburg.

State school holiday dates 2025-26 and 2026-27

Baden-Wurttemberg does not run long fixed terms like the British system. Instead the school year is shaped by five main holiday blocks: Easter, Whitsun, summer, autumn and Christmas. The confirmed dates spanning 2026 are:

Baden-Wurttemberg has no fixed winter (Fasching) holiday, unlike Bavaria, so the stretch from January to Easter runs without a break. The summer holiday is comparatively late because Germany staggers the start of its summer break across the states to ease holiday traffic, with Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria always among the last to break up. Individual schools can place a small number of movable in-service days around these blocks, so confirm with your school before booking travel.

International school term dates

Stuttgart has a compact but established international sector serving the automotive and engineering community around Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bosch and their suppliers. The International School of Stuttgart and a handful of bilingual schools teach a northern-hemisphere September to July year, so the broad rhythm matches the state calendar, but the detail differs. International schools usually take a longer Christmas break of two to three weeks rather than the shorter state window, and they place a spring break around Easter that does not always line up exactly with the Baden-Wurttemberg Osterferien. They also tend to start in late August, a couple of weeks ahead of the state schools that return in mid-September.

For a relocating family the practical point is that an international school place and a German state school place will not share identical holidays, so plan travel around whichever calendar your child is actually on. To compare programmes, including how the German Abitur sits against the IB Diploma, see our curriculum guides, and for the national picture our Germany schools guide sets out how the state and international sectors fit together across the country.

Planning the year

Three practical notes for Stuttgart families. First, the late Baden-Wurttemberg summer break, ending on 12 September in 2026, means flights and Alpine or Mediterranean accommodation in late August stay busy long after northern German families have returned, so book the August departures early. Second, international school fees are typically billed by term or semester, with the first instalment due before the late-August start, so settle it over the summer. Third, the bridge days around Ascension and Corpus Christi in May and June are easy long weekends that do not eat into the main holiday blocks. For the wider context, our Stuttgart city guide covers where international families settle in the southern and western suburbs.

Common questions

When do schools break up in Stuttgart? State schools follow the Baden-Wurttemberg calendar. The summer break in 2026 runs from 30 July to 12 September, with shorter breaks at Easter, Whitsun, autumn and Christmas.

How long is the summer holiday in Stuttgart? About six weeks, from Thursday 30 July to Saturday 12 September 2026, later than in northern Germany because the states stagger their breaks.

When does the 2026 school year start in Stuttgart? State schools resume in mid-September 2026 after the summer break; international schools typically restart in late August.

Do international schools in Stuttgart follow a different calendar? They share the September to July year but take a longer Christmas break and an Easter-timed spring break, and usually start earlier in late August.

Related guides

• Stuttgart city guide
• Germany schools guide
• London school holidays 2026