Shopping Sundays in Saxony-Anhalt

Search a town or pick a period: the finder lists the Sundays and holidays permitted in Saxony-Anhalt, with the municipal permit.

Saxony-Anhalt: next shopping Sunday

Sun 8 November

in 10 days: Halle (Saale), Innenstadt (innerhalb des Rings inkl. gesamter Leipziger Straße), 13-18 Uhr

Dates, from Thu 29 October4
Towns with a date2
Maximum in Saxony-Anhalt4 a year (LÖffZeitG LSA)
List checked on29 October 2026

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How this is calculated

Time left until Halle (Saale), Innenstadt (innerhalb des Rings inkl. gesamter Leipziger Straße), 8 November 2026

10days12hrs0min0sec

Saxony-Anhalt, from Thu 29 October: dates with area, occasion and official source
DateTownAreaOccasionHoursSource
Sun 8 NovemberHalle (Saale)Innenstadt (innerhalb des Rings inkl. gesamter Leipziger Straße)Hallesches Lichterfest 202613-18 UhrStadt Halle (Saale)
Sun 29 NovemberMagdeburgInnenstadtWeihnachtsmarkt 202613-18 UhrLandeshauptstadt Magdeburg
Sun 13 DecemberHalle (Saale)Innenstadt (innerhalb des Rings inkl. gesamter Leipziger Straße)Hallescher Weihnachtsmarkt 202613-18 UhrStadt Halle (Saale)
Sun 13 DecemberMagdeburgInnenstadtWeihnachtsmarkt 202613-18 UhrLandeshauptstadt Magdeburg

Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · acts and ordinances checked on 29 October 2026

Saxony-Anhalt adds a twist to the shopping Sunday: the municipality may extend the permit to the Saturday before, when shops may then open from midnight to midnight. The basis is section 7 of the Shop Opening Hours Act. A municipality may permit opening on up to four Sundays and holidays a year, either for a special occasion such as a market, fair or major sporting or cultural event, or in the public interest of reviving the place, backed by a local problem and a development or retail plan. Opening may not exceed five consecutive hours between 11 am and 8 pm. New Year, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday, Volkstrauertag, Totensonntag, Christmas and Christmas Eve on a Sunday are excluded. The act does not bar Whit Sunday or the Advent Sundays. A permit for one district counts towards the maximum as if it covered the whole municipality.

What the law allows in Saxony-Anhalt

The provision is section 7 of the Saxony-Anhalt Shop Opening Hours Act, last amended on 3 March 2025. For 2027 it allows 48 Sundays, most of them in Advent too. Regard for the main church service remains mandatory.

Check a Sunday of 2027 in Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt, Sunday, 28 November 2027

Can be released

Maximum per year4
Opening hoursbetween 11:00 and 20:00, 5 hours at most
Possible Sundays 202748 / 52
Who releasesthe municipality, by permit
Check any state and year →

Dates in 2026

Shopping Sundays and holidays 2026 in Saxony-Anhalt, as published by the towns
DateTownAreaOccasionSource
Sun 27 SeptemberHalle (Saale)InnenstadtHallesches Salz- und SalinefestStadt Halle (Saale)
Sun 8 NovemberHalle (Saale)Innenstadt (innerhalb des Rings inkl. gesamter Leipziger Straße)Hallesches Lichterfest 2026Stadt Halle (Saale)
Sun 29 NovemberMagdeburgInnenstadtWeihnachtsmarkt 2026Landeshauptstadt Magdeburg
Sun 13 DecemberHalle (Saale)Innenstadt (innerhalb des Rings inkl. gesamter Leipziger Straße)Hallescher Weihnachtsmarkt 2026Stadt Halle (Saale)
Sun 13 DecemberMagdeburgInnenstadtWeihnachtsmarkt 2026Landeshauptstadt Magdeburg

Dates in 2027

For 2027 our list has no town in Saxony-Anhalt with officially published dates yet.

Towns in Saxony-Anhalt: dates per year (“pending” = not yet published)
Town20262027Source
Halle (Saale)3pendingStadt Halle (Saale)
Magdeburg2pendingLandeshauptstadt Magdeburg

Sundays that stay closed

Saxony-Anhalt 2027: Sundays no town may release
SundayBarred as
Sun 28 MarchEaster Sunday
Sun 14 NovemberNational Day of Mourning
Sun 21 NovemberSunday of the Dead
Sun 26 DecemberChristmas Day or Boxing Day

Neighbouring Saxony and Thuringia use fixed windows of noon to 6 pm and 11 am to 8 pm.

Common questions

Can shops in Saxony-Anhalt open longer on the Saturday before a shopping Sunday?

Yes. Under section 7(5) of the act, the municipality may extend the permit to the directly preceding Saturday from midnight to midnight. Whether it does is stated in its permit. The result is a long shopping weekend, around a town festival for instance.

Is Whit Sunday a shopping Sunday in Saxony-Anhalt?

It is not barred. Section 7(1) names Easter Sunday and Easter Monday but not Whitsun. A municipality could therefore permit Whit Sunday with an occasion. Whether that happens is the municipality’s decision; our list shows the day only when a town has published it.

What is required in Saxony-Anhalt without a special occasion?

The municipality then needs a public interest in reviving the place, backed by a particular local problem such as poor competitive conditions, and a development or retail plan that the Sundays fit into. The retailers’ interest in turnover alone is not enough, under section 7(3).

Keep going

Shop opening acts

The 16 state rules side by side

Saxony

Four Sundays noon to 6 pm, Advent possible

Thuringia

Four days, six hours, first or second Advent

Advent

Which Advent Sundays each state allows

Official sources for this page

Prepared by

Publisher of an independent calendar of German shopping Sundays that traces every date back to the town's own ordinance

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As of 2026, shop opening acts of all 16 states checked on