Overview
- Several 2026 holidays land on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Fridays, opening bridge-day opportunities around New Year, Easter, Labour Day, Ascension, Pentecost Monday and, in eligible states, Corpus Christi.
- Concrete examples show outsized returns: three leave days around January 1 and 6 can yield seven consecutive days off, and eight leave days around Easter can produce 16 days away.
- May stands out, with two nine-day breaks possible for four leave days each around Labour Day and Ascension, with further extensions where Corpus Christi is observed.
- Regional rules shape eligibility: Corpus Christi is a public holiday only in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, while Mariä Himmelfahrt and the Augsburger Friedensfest apply locally.
- Planning faces limits as five public holidays fall on weekends and Christmas week is less favorable because Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are not statutory holidays, while Chip.de reports a portal’s claim that 30 leave days in Bavaria could translate to 67 days free.