If it feels like Austria barely gets through a full working week in spring without another public holiday appearing on the calendar (not that we are complaining), there is a reason for that.
Austria has 13 statutory public holidays listed in its public holiday law, and several of them are Christian holidays that shift each year based on the date of Easter. Add May 1st, Austria’s secular State Holiday, and spring becomes the most holiday-heavy part of the Austrian year.
Which spring public holidays does Austria have?
In 2026, the spring and early summer cluster started with Easter Monday on April 6th.
Then comes May 1st, the State Holiday, followed by Ascension Day, known in German as Christi Himmelfahrt, on May 14th, Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, Pfingstmontag, on May 25th, and Corpus Christi, Fronleichnam, on June 4th.
So Austria has five (out of its 13) statutory public holidays between early April and early June in 2026. In some years, depending on when Easter falls, the spacing is tighter or looser, but the pattern is the same: Easter sets off a chain of movable Christian holidays.
READ ALSO: How to make the most of Austria’s spring public holidays
The same pattern continues in later years. In 2027, Easter Monday falls on March 29th, Ascension Day on May 6th, Whit Monday on May 17th and Corpus Christi on May 27th. In 2028, Easter Monday is on April 17th, Ascension Day on May 25th, Whit Monday on June 5th and Corpus Christi on June 15th.
Why are so many of them linked to Easter?
Easter is the central feast of the Christian church year, and several other Christian feast days are calculated from it – and Austria is still deeply Christian in its traditions and holidays.
The ORF religion lexicon explains that there are fixed religious festivals, such as Christmas, and movable ones that depend on the date of Easter. In Western Christianity, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon.
Ascension Day and Pentecost then follow Easter. ORF’s report describes Ascension and Pentecost as festivals linked to biblical accounts of Jesus’ departure and the “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit, respectively.
That is why these public holidays shift around the calendar each year rather than always falling on the same date.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: When can I get a day off work in Austria?
Why are Ascension Day and Corpus Christi always Thursdays?
Two of the holidays that tend to catch people’s attention are Ascension Day and Corpus Christi, because they always fall on a Thursday (giving people easy days for long weekends).
Ascension Day is celebrated 40 days after Easter. The Catholic Church in Austria says the feast marks the body of Jesus rising into heaven and is one of the oldest Christian feasts. In the first centuries, Ascension was linked to Pentecost, before becoming a separate feast 10 days earlier in the 4th century.
Corpus Christi falls on the second Thursday after Pentecost. The day is linked to Catholic belief in the presence of God in bread and wine, with processions in which a decorated monstrance with a consecrated host is carried through the streets.
READ ALSO: Working in Austria: How many holidays can I take?
Why does Austria still have so many Catholic holidays?
Austria’s holiday calendar reflects the country’s Catholic historical and cultural imprint.
Most of the statutory holidays listed in the public holiday law have a Christian background. Alongside the spring holidays, Austria also has Epiphany on January 6th, Assumption Day on August 15th, All Saints’ Day on November 1st, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.
There are two major secular statutory holidays: May 1st, known as the State Holiday in Austria, and October 26th, which is Austria’s National Holiday.
READ ALSO: Christi Himmelfahrt: Why is Ascension Day a public holiday in Austria?
What does a public holiday mean for workers?
For most employees, a statutory public holiday means a paid day off if it would otherwise have been a working day.
Austria’s official business portal USP says employees are entitled to an uninterrupted rest period of at least 24 hours on public holidays. This public holiday rest must generally start between midnight and 6 am on the holiday.
Employees may work on public holidays only if certain legal conditions allow it. If they do work, they are also entitled to remuneration for that work.
The Labour Inspectorate also notes that employees who work on a public holiday don’t automatically have a right to a substitute day off or other compensatory rest, although additional holiday pay is due and time off in lieu can be agreed instead.
READ ALSO: Pfingstmontag: What happens in Austria on Pentecost Monday?
Why school calendars can look even more complicated
For families, the picture can be slightly more complex.
Austria’s Education Ministry lists the statutory public holidays as school-free days, but also includes All Souls’ Day on November 2nd, certain school-free days for members of specific churches, and the feast days of provincial patron saints.
So parents will have to prepare for school-free days that are not necessarily public holidays for every worker.
READ ALSO: Fronleichnam: Why is Thursday a public holiday in Austria?
Key vocabulary
der Feiertag – public holiday
der Ostermontag – Easter Monday
der Staatsfeiertag – State Holiday, marked in Austria on May 1st
Christi Himmelfahrt – Ascension Day
der Pfingstmontag – Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday
Fronleichnam – Corpus Christi