Shops Closed in 9 States on Saturday 31 October
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Shops in nine of Germany's 16 federal states will stay closed on Saturday 31 October because it is Reformation Day, a public holiday there. The holiday applies in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.
In these states supermarkets and discounters such as Aldi, Lidl, Rewe and Edeka, as well as drugstores, DIY stores and most other shops, keep their regular branches closed, as on a Sunday. Offices and many public services are also closed. Because Sunday 1 November follows, Friday 30 October is the last normal shopping day in these states until Monday 2 November.
Some exceptions apply. Petrol stations and shops at railway stations and airports may open and sell a limited range of food. Some bakeries may open with shorter hours. In certain tourist towns in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, special resort rules allow shops to open for up to six hours.
In the other seven states, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Saturday 31 October is a normal shopping day with the usual opening hours. Five of them have All Saints' Day as a public holiday on Sunday 1 November instead, which does not cost a shopping day this year.
What to do: if you live in one of the nine holiday states, check the opening hours of your nearest railway station or petrol station shop before you go. Gen Z protests are also planned in many cities on Saturday 31 October, which may affect traffic in city centres.
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