Shopping Hours - Germany

Germany

Shopping days and opening hours in Germany were previously regulated by a federal law, the "Shop Closing Law" (Ladenschlussgesetz), first enacted in 1956 and last revised on March 13, 2003. The federal government, however, handed over the authority to regulate shopping hours to the sixteen states on 7 July 2006. Since then, states have been allowed to pass their own laws regulating opening hours. The federal Ladenschlussgesetz continues to be valid within states that have not passed their own laws.

Under the old Ladenschlussgesetz, which currently applies only in the states of Bavaria and the Saarland, the general rule was that from Monday to Saturday, shops may not open prior to 6 a.m. and may not stay open later than 8 p.m. Shops were also obliged to close all day on Sundays and public holidays (both federal and state), and special rules applied concerning Christmas Eve (December 24) should that day fall on a weekday. But there were several exceptions. For example, petrol stations (Tankstellen) and shops located in railway stations and airports may stay open past the normal hours; most petrol stations in larger cities and all situated on Autobahns are open 4 h.

Shops in so-called "tourist zones" may also open outside the normal hours, although restricted to selling souvenirs, handcrafted articles and similar tourist items. In connection with fairs and public market days, communities are allowed four days per year (normally Sundays) when shops may be open outside the normal restrictions; however, such shop openings may not take place during primary church services and must close by 6 pm. Bakeries may open for business at 5:30 am and may also open for a limited time on Sundays. Restaurants, bars, theatres, and cultural establishments are generally unaffected by the shop opening time restrictions. As most public holidays in Germany are religiously based, and since the religious holidays (Protestant and Catholic) are not uniform across Germany, shops may be closed due to a public holiday in one state, and open in a neighbouring state. Bavaria even differentiates between cities with Protestant or Catholic majorities.

The law was the subject of controversy in recent years, as larger stores (and many of their customers) would prefer to have fewer restrictions on their hours of operation, while trade unions, small shop owners and the church are opposed to a further loosening of the rules. On June 9, 2004, the German Supreme Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) rejected a claim by the German department store chain Kaufhof AG that the shop-closing law was unconstitutional. Among other things, the court cited Article 140 of the German constitution (Grundgesetz) (which in turn invokes Article 139 of the 1919 Weimar Constitution) protecting Sundays and public holidays as days of rest and recuperation. However, the court in effect invited the Federal parliament (Bundestag) to reconsider whether the states (Länder) and not the federal government should regulate hours.

No state has, so far, passed regulation that allows for general store opening on Sundays.

Monday to Saturday, there is no restriction; regulation for Sunday varies in different states:

• Baden-Württemberg
• Berlin
• Brandenburg
• Bremen
• Hamburg
• Hesse
• Lower Saxony
• North Rhine-Westphalia
• Schleswig-Holstein

Monday-Friday: no time restriction; regulation for Saturday, Sunday varies in different states:

• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
• Saxony-Anhalt
• Thuringia

Monday-Saturday: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., regulation for Sunday varies in different states:

• Rhineland-Palatinate
• Saxony

States with no liberalisation of opening hours that exceeds the federal law:

• Bavaria
• Saarland