German States Push Bavaria to End Fixed Late Summer Holiday

Several German states are demanding that Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg give up their long-standing privilege of always starting the six-week summer school holidays last. Education ministers from North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony and others say the arrangement forces families elsewhere into the peak travel season and higher prices, while the two southern states benefit from quieter, cheaper late-August slots and an additional Pentecost break. Under the 1964 Hamburg Agreement, the 16 Länder rotate their holiday dates every five years to spread road and rail traffic; Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were exempted so that pupils could help with the harvest, a rationale critics call outdated. The calendar is fixed until 2029/30, but negotiations on the following years begin later this year in the Kultusministerkonferenz. Federal Education Minister Karin Prien urged the states to reach a "contemporary" compromise, yet Bavarian Premier Markus Söder insists the late break is "part of Bavaria’s DNA" and vows to block any change. Unanimous approval is required for a new timetable, setting up a confrontation as the Länder prepare to vote on the post-2030 schedule.