Shopping Sundays in Hesse: dates and rules

Hessian towns have to plan early. Section 6 of the Hessian Shop Opening Act allows up to four Sundays and public holidays a year for markets, fairs or special local events, but requires the release and its reasons to be published at least three months ahead. It takes the form of a general order, and the town must show that the event itself draws more people than the open shops would. Up to six consecutive hours are allowed, ending by 8 pm, longer than in most states. Advent Sundays, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Whitsun, Corpus Christi, Volkstrauertag and Totensonntag are barred. An objection or lawsuit against a release does not suspend it, so the date stands until a court expressly stops it. Anyone looking for a date in spring 2027 will therefore usually find it in the town’s gazette by the end of 2026.