With the new school year about to begin, families in Austria can already plan ahead for autumn, Christmas, skiing season and next summer.
Most of the main school holidays are the same across the country. The big exceptions are the February semester break and the summer holidays, when Austria's nine provinces are split into different groups.
According to the Education Ministry's official calendar for the 2026/27 school year, the dates formally apply to public middle and higher schools and private middle and higher schools with public-law status. Compulsory schools usually follow the same calendar, although there can be exceptions.
When does the 2026/27 school year start?
Austria also splits the start of the school year between two groups of provinces.
Schools start on the first Monday in September in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, which means September 7th in 2026.
In Carinthia, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, school begins on the second Monday, September 14th.
READ ALSO: What parents and pupils in Austria need to know for the new school year
Autumn holidays
The first big break comes relatively quickly.
The autumn holidays, or Herbstferien, run from Tuesday, October 27th to Saturday, October 31st in all nine provinces.
This year, though, the effective break is longer. Monday, October 26th is Austria's National Day and a public holiday, while Monday, November 2nd, All Souls' Day (Allerseelen), is also school-free nationwide.
So most pupils finish classes on Friday, October 23rd and return on Tuesday, November 3rd.
READ ALSO: Why is Austria's National Day celebrated on October 26th?
Christmas holidays
Christmas is straightforward across the country.
Schools are closed from Thursday, December 24th, 2026 until Wednesday, January 6th, 2027, with pupils returning after the Epiphany holiday.
December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Mariä Empfängnis), is also a nationwide public holiday before the Christmas break. In 2026, it falls on a Tuesday.
READ ALSO: Austria's nationwide and regional public holidays in 2026
When are the 2027 semester holidays?
This is the break parents need to check most carefully, particularly when booking winter holidays.
Austria's one-week semester holiday, known as Semesterferien, is staggered across February. For 2027, there are three groups:
- February 1st to 6th: Vienna and Lower Austria
- February 8th to 13th: Burgenland and Carinthia
- February 15th to 20th: Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg
The grouping is slightly unusual in 2027 because the holidays for Tyrol and Vorarlberg were moved from the second to the third week of February.
As The Local previously reported, authorities changed the dates to avoid an overlap with carnival holidays in major winter-tourism markets, which could have added to pressure on ski resorts and roads.
READ ALSO: Austria adjusts school holiday dates in Tyrol and Vorarlberg for 2027
Easter holidays
The Easter break is the same throughout Austria.
Schools are closed from Saturday, March 20th to Monday, March 29th, 2027, including Easter Monday.
Classes resume on Tuesday, March 30th.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What happens on Easter Monday in Austria?
Whitsun holidays
There is another nationwide break over the Pentecost weekend.
The Pfingstferien, or Whitsun holidays, run from Saturday, May 15th to Monday, May 17th in 2027.
There are also two useful weekday public holidays during the spring term: Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt) on Thursday, May 6th and Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) on Thursday, May 27th. Schools are closed on statutory public holidays.
READ ALSO: Pfingstmontag: What happens in Austria on Pentecost Monday?
When do the 2027 summer holidays begin?
As with the start of the school year, Austria divides the summer holidays into two groups.
In Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, the summer break runs from Saturday, July 3rd to Sunday, September 5th.
In Carinthia, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, it runs from Saturday, July 10th to Sunday, September 12th.
That follows the same provincial split used for the 2026 summer holidays.
READ NEXT:
- ‘Be somewhat creative’: How do working parents in Austria cover the long summer holidays?
- Can I take my kids out of their Austrian school during term time for a holiday?
- Key vocabulary
die Schulferien - school holidays
die Herbstferien - autumn holidays
die Weihnachtsferien - Christmas holidays
die Semesterferien - semester or mid-year holidays
die Osterferien - Easter holidays
die Sommerferien - summer holidays
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