Ladenschlussgesetz
Encyclopedia
In the Federal Republic of Germany
, the Ladenschlussgesetz or "Shop Closing Law" (abbreviated: LadSchlG) is the federal law regulating at which times retail stores were required to be closed to the public. The Ladenschlussgesetz in its current form was first enacted on 28 November 1956 following pressure from Germany's trade unions; in its last revision (of 2 June 2003), points of sale (Verkaufsstellen) must be closed at any of the following times:
The law provides differing regulations for pharmacies, petrol stations, shops at train stations and airports, etc.
On 30 June 2006, as part of the Föderalismusreform ("Federalism Reform"), the regulatory responsibility for this area was devolved to the German states
. The net effect, although the Federal law technically remains in force, the states are free to determine the opening hours of retail stores in their areas. Meanwhile, all states made use of that option.
Shops may be open until 10 pm on Saturdays.
Shops may be open until 8 pm on Saturdays; rules for Sundays and holidays follow the existing Federal law.
Shops may be open Monday through Saturday from 6 am to 10 pm each day.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Ladenschlussgesetz or "Shop Closing Law" (abbreviated: LadSchlG) is the federal law regulating at which times retail stores were required to be closed to the public. The Ladenschlussgesetz in its current form was first enacted on 28 November 1956 following pressure from Germany's trade unions; in its last revision (of 2 June 2003), points of sale (Verkaufsstellen) must be closed at any of the following times:
- On Sundays and public holidayHolidayA Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
s; - On working days (Monday through Saturday) before 06:00 and after 20:00;
- On December 24 before 06:00 and after 14:00 if that date falls on a working day
The law provides differing regulations for pharmacies, petrol stations, shops at train stations and airports, etc.
On 30 June 2006, as part of the Föderalismusreform ("Federalism Reform"), the regulatory responsibility for this area was devolved to the German states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
. The net effect, although the Federal law technically remains in force, the states are free to determine the opening hours of retail stores in their areas. Meanwhile, all states made use of that option.
German states with varying shop opening hours
The states have each adopted individual regulations concerning opening hours on Sundays and public holidays. Some continue to observe the existing Federal rules, while others have liberalized them somewhat, although the general Federal ban concerning opening on Sundays and holidays remains in effect, owing to a provision in the German constitution recognizing Sunday as a day of rest and a corresponding decision of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) on 9 June 2004.24/6 scheme
(Shops may be open as desired at any hour (day or night) Monday through Saturday)- Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
Effective date: 6 March 2007 - BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
Effective date: 14 November 2006 - BrandenburgBrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
Effective date: 1 December 2006 - BremenBremen (state)The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
Effective date: 1 April 2007 - HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Effective date: 1 January 2007 - HesseHesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
Effective date: 1 December 2006 - Lower SaxonyLower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
Effective date: 21 November 2006 - North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
Effective date: 21 November 2006 - Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
Effective date: 1 December 2006
24/5 scheme
(Shops may be open as desired at any hour (day or night) Monday through Friday, with restrictions on Saturday opening hours)- Mecklenburg-Western PomeraniaMecklenburg-Western PomeraniaMecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in northern Germany. The capital city is Schwerin...
Effective date: 2 July 2007
Shops may be open until 10 pm on Saturdays.
- Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
Effective date: 30 November 2006 and - ThuringiaThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
Effective date: 24 November 2006
Shops may be open until 8 pm on Saturdays; rules for Sundays and holidays follow the existing Federal law.
Other schemes
- Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
Effective date: 29 November 2006 and - SaxonySaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
Effective date: 1 April 2007
Shops may be open Monday through Saturday from 6 am to 10 pm each day.
(Existing) Federal shop-opening scheme
- BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
- SaarlandSaarlandSaarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
(minor modifications concerning opening on Sundays and holidays)