Holiday terms explained clearly

Austrian Working Rest Act

The Austrian Working Rest Act is the main legal reference for Sunday rest and public holidays. Section 7 lists the nationwide public holidays.

Example: New Year's Day, Corpus Christi and Christmas Day are checked against section 7 of the Act.

Bank holiday

A bank holiday can affect banking and payment processing, but it is not automatically a public holiday for every employee.

Example: Christmas Eve can matter for bank deadlines even though 24 December is not a general Austrian public holiday.

Bridge day

A bridge day is a working day between a public holiday and a weekend. Taking that day off can create a longer continuous break.

Example: If Ascension Day falls on Thursday, the following Friday is a classic bridge day.

Calendar subscription

A calendar subscription is a stable WebCal feed that keeps Austrian holidays, regional days or school breaks current inside a calendar app.

Example: A subscription is better than a one-time download when future years should appear automatically.

Calendar week

A calendar week groups seven days for project planning, scheduling and coordination. Austrian planning usually reads weeks from Monday to Sunday.

Example: KW or CW references are useful when holidays and school breaks need to be coordinated across quarters.

Carnival

Carnival groups Shrove Monday, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. It is relevant for planning, but not a nationwide Austrian public holiday.

Example: Local school events, parades and closures around carnival can matter more than the public-holiday list.

Christmas break

Christmas break crosses the turn of the year and connects school holidays with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Epiphany.

Example: For Christmas break, the calendar year, following year and childcare dates should be checked together.

Collective agreement

A collective agreement can define working-time details, supplements, shorter days or industry-specific rules. It is especially important around Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Example: Whether work ends early on 24 December often depends on collective agreement or company practice.

Compensatory rest day

A compensatory rest day is time off granted when work is performed on Sundays or public holidays. The exact rule depends on working-time law, industry and schedule.

Example: A holiday shift may create a compensatory-rest question in addition to pay questions.

Data export

Data export creates Austrian holiday, regional and school-break data as CSV or iCalendar files for calendars, spreadsheets and internal systems.

Example: For HR tools or spreadsheets, data export is more reliable than copying a holiday list by hand.

Daylight saving time

Daylight saving time covers the clock change in March and the return to standard time in October. One night is shorter, the other is longer.

Example: Shift work, early travel and digital calendars can need a separate reminder for the clock change.

Easter

Easter is the central movable spring date. Good Friday, Easter Monday, Easter break, Ascension, Whitsun and Corpus Christi depend on it.

Example: When planning Easter break, holidays and bridge days, treat Easter as a connected date block.

Events

Events are planning-relevant dates such as clock changes, carnival, Mother's Day or Father's Day. They are deliberately separate from statutory public holidays.

Example: An event can matter for school, work, shops or travel without being a public holiday.

Father's Day

Father's Day in Austria falls on the second Sunday in June. It is not a public holiday, but it can affect family visits and outings.

Example: Plan Father's Day as a weekend event, not as an additional day off work.

Federal state

The federal state matters for regional holidays, school holidays and some school-free days. Austria-wide answers are not always precise enough.

Example: St Joseph's Day is relevant in several federal states, while St Rupert's Day is tied to Salzburg.

Fenstertag

Fenstertag is the Austrian everyday word for a bridge day: a working day framed by a holiday and a weekend.

Example: A Friday after a Thursday holiday is often called a Fenstertag.

Half holiday

Half holiday is usually informal wording. The day is often not legally free, but may be shortened by collective agreement, company rule or industry practice.

Example: Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are often shortened in practice, but they are not general public holidays.

Holiday pay

Holiday pay refers to pay questions when work does not happen because of a statutory public holiday. It should not be confused with voluntary time off.

Example: New Year's Day has a different legal status from a normal vacation day.

Holiday rest

Holiday rest means that work is generally suspended on statutory public holidays. Exceptions exist for certain industries and necessary services.

Example: National Day normally means holiday rest, while hospitality, health care or transport can have special rules.

ISO calendar week

The ISO calendar-week system starts weeks on Monday. Week 1 is the week containing the first Thursday of the year.

Example: Project plans often use calendar-week numbers instead of month dates.

Marian holiday

Marian holidays are Catholic feast days dedicated to Mary. In Austria, Assumption Day and Immaculate Conception are particularly important.

Example: Assumption Day on 15 August and Immaculate Conception on 8 December are nationwide public holidays.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day in Austria falls on the second Sunday in May. It is not a public holiday, but it is relevant for family plans, restaurants and gifts.

Example: Restaurant bookings and family visits around Mother's Day should be planned earlier than on a normal Sunday.

Personal holiday

The personal holiday is a special unilateral leave rule under section 7a of the Working Rest Act. It is not an additional public holiday.

Example: Good Friday is not a general Austrian public holiday, but it is often discussed in connection with the personal-holiday rule.

Public holiday

A public holiday in Austria is a legally defined holiday with workplace relevance. The main nationwide holidays are listed in the Working Rest Act.

Example: New Year's Day and National Day are public holidays throughout Austria.

Regional holiday

A regional holiday is not automatically observed throughout Austria. Its practical effect depends on federal state, school, employer and legal basis.

Example: St Leopold's Day matters differently in Vienna and Lower Austria than in Tyrol or Carinthia.

School holidays

School holidays are periods without regular classes. Some are Austria-wide, while others differ by federal state, school type or specific school.

Example: Semester holidays differ by federal state; summer holidays begin in two regional groups.

School-autonomous day

A school-autonomous day is a school-free day that is not necessarily identical across Austria. The concrete school or education authority is decisive.

Example: Individual schools can have additional free days around holidays or breaks.

Semester break

Semester break is the staggered Austrian school break in February. The concrete federal-state group matters for families, winter travel and childcare.

Example: Vienna and Lower Austria can have different semester-break dates from Carinthia, Salzburg, Tyrol or Vorarlberg.

State patron

A state patron is a saint traditionally connected with a federal state. The feast can matter for schools, customs and regional administration.

Example: St Joseph is connected with several Austrian states; St Rupert is connected with Salzburg.

Summer break

Summer break is the longest school-holiday block. It starts by federal-state group and strongly shapes travel and childcare planning.

Example: For summer break, start group, end date and regional demand matter more than one generic Austria answer.

Working day

A working day is a day on which work can generally be scheduled. For planning, it matters whether that day is also a public holiday, bridge day or school-free day.

Example: The Friday after Ascension Day is usually a working day, but can be used as a bridge day.

Zwickeltag

Zwickeltag is an Austrian colloquial term for a bridge day or Fenstertag: the working day squeezed between days off.

Example: The Friday after a Thursday public holiday is often called a Zwickeltag.