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Söder's holiday policy: Bavaria has the upper hand!
Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder defends the summer holiday regulations for 2025 to 2030 against criticism from other federal states.
Söder's holiday policy: Bavaria has the upper hand!
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has once again commented on the heated debate about the summer holiday dates in Bavaria. He emphasizes that the discussion should not only take into account the preferences of Bavarian families, but also the financial burden that Bavaria bears in the state financial equalization. “We don’t let other federal states dictate when we have holidays,” explained Söder today, July 17, 2025.
Söder emphasized that the Bavarian summer vacation date, which is set from the beginning of August to mid-September, is part of the “Bavarian biorhythm”. Changing this regulation would require extensive adjustments to the entire holiday plans, which he rejects. This clear stance contradicts the demands of several federal states that criticize a late regulation for the summer holidays in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. In particular, North Rhine-Westphalia's Education Minister Dorothee Feller expressed the wish to postpone the start of the holidays.
The dispute over the regulations is also fueled by voices from Saxony calling on Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg to give up their special role. Thuringia's CDU parliamentary group leader Andreas Bühl calls for a modern and fair system for all federal states. The current summer holiday periods in Bavaria, which have existed for around 60 years and are valid until 2030, continue to cause tensions between the states. Many students and parents in other federal states find the late regulation a disadvantage because they have to go on vacation during the peak travel season.
The Bavarian holiday regulations until 2030
As the Bavarian Ministry of Culture explains in a further communication, the holiday regulations for the years 2025 to 2030 were decided by the state ministers of education. The tried and tested Bavarian holiday rhythm will be continued, which is particularly appreciated by families. This stipulates that the summer holidays in Bavaria take place from the end of July or beginning of August to around mid-September. This means that schools have enough time for lessons, exams and school projects after the Whitsun holidays.
This regulation not only offers planning security for schools and families, but also aims to extend the overall holiday period in Germany and equalize travel in the summer. Bavarian students benefit from an even distribution of holidays throughout the year, which are considered important breaks for the alternation of work and relaxation phases. “The existing holiday regulations have proven successful for Bavaria,” says the Ministry of Culture, which ensures that all federal states have the same number of holiday days – 75 working days per school year.
This approach of coordinating the summer holidays nationwide every several years could strengthen the community of the educational landscape in Germany. Schleswig-Holstein is currently calmly supporting the compromise of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs and shows that not everything has to be as black and white as it sometimes seems.
It remains to be seen whether the fronts in the holiday dispute will finally ease. In any case, the discussion about Bavaria's holiday times continues to be a topic of conversation - both in schools and in families.