Good Friday

3 April 2026 Not a general public holiday Personal holiday possible Quiet day of Holy Week

Good Friday is religiously one of the most important days before Easter, but under labour law it is not a general statutory public holiday. Anyone who wants the day off usually has to plan it: through annual leave, time off in lieu, a workplace solution or the personal holiday. Here you can find out what applies under labour law and how to ideally plan the Easter weekend.

Plan Easter block Check legal status
Personal holiday and labour law

At a glance

Good Friday falls in 2026 on Friday, 3 April 2026. The day is religiously important, but in Austrian labour law it must be treated differently from Easter Monday.

Date
3 April 2026
Good Friday is always the Friday before Easter Sunday.
Status
Not a general public holiday
The day is not listed in the nationwide public-holiday list of the Working Rest Act.
Personal holiday
1 day of annual leave
One day of annual leave can be set unilaterally once per leave year if the deadline is met.
Easter block
4 days possible
With Good Friday off, Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday form a long block.

The biggest Good Friday trap is equating it with Easter Monday. Easter Monday is a statutory public holiday with general public-holiday rest. Good Friday, by contrast, is a normal Friday for most people, even though the religious rank of the day is very high.

In practice, the special effect comes from its position in the calendar. Anyone who gets Good Friday off automatically connects it with Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. A single free Friday then becomes a four-day Easter block. For families, Good Friday in Austria also regularly falls in the Easter school holidays.

A reliable order avoids misunderstandings: first check whether Good Friday is free from work, then classify school, opening hours, travel traffic and Easter dates. The religious meaning remains important, without treating every everyday question like a public-holiday rule.

Holiday planning

Plan Easter block

How you can use Good Friday for an extended Easter weekend.

1 leave day = 4 days

4 free days with Good Friday off

A free Good Friday connects Friday, the weekend and statutory Easter Monday into a compact Easter block.

Recommendation
Notify Good Friday in time
Block
3 April to 6 April 2026

Good Friday is especially interesting for leave planning even though it is not a general public holiday. A free Friday before Easter immediately creates four free days together with the weekend and statutory Easter Monday. Anyone who then takes Tuesday to Friday off can extend the Easter weekend into a full free week.

The calculator lets you check immediately whether a thermal-spa stay, family visit, ski-season finale or quiet short break around Good Friday is realistic.

Smart Vacation Planner

Maximize your free time around Good Friday:

Long Weekend (Good Friday) This holiday extends the weekend without using vacation days. Check the week around Good Friday directly.
Everyday practice

What applies in everyday life?

When you can expect closed schools and open shops on Good Friday.

Good Friday often feels different from an ordinary Friday because churches, Easter school holidays and the closeness to the long weekend are in the background. For errands, opening hours and rosters, however, the decisive point is that there is no general public-holiday rest.

Work

Mostly normal

For most employees, Good Friday is a regular working day. The day becomes free through annual leave, time off in lieu, a company rule or the personal holiday announced in time.

Shopping

Typically open

Supermarkets, drugstores, shopping streets and many private service providers usually follow normal Friday hours. The broad closing day is Easter Monday.

School

Easter holidays

In practice, schools are often closed on Good Friday because the day falls in the Easter school holidays. The reason is usually the holiday calendar, not a separate statutory public-holiday status.

Church

Quiet day

In parishes and churches, Good Friday is shaped by the Passion, Stations of the Cross, silence and veneration of the cross. Its religious character is more formative than its labour-law effect.

Quiet school building during the Easter holidays on Good Friday
Legal situation

Labour law since 2019

What the 'Personal Holiday' means and why the old holiday rule was abolished.

Before 2019, Good Friday in Austria had a special labour-law rule for members of certain churches. This special status ended with the 2019 legal change. It was replaced by the general personal holiday, which is not tied to a denomination. [2]

The sober classification is important: the personal holiday is not an additional paid public holiday. It is a day from the existing annual-leave entitlement whose date employees can set unilaterally once per leave year. The employer must know the date in writing and in good time.

Employee handing in a leave request for the personal holiday on Good Friday
Section 7 Working Rest Act

The nationwide public-holiday list in the Working Rest Act includes Easter Monday, but not Good Friday. There is therefore no general public-holiday rest just because of this date.

Section 7a Working Rest Act

The personal holiday is a unilaterally chosen day of annual leave. Notice must be given in writing no later than three months in advance.

Since 2019

The former special rule for members of Protestant churches, the Old Catholic Church and the Methodist Church was replaced in 2019 by the general personal holiday.

FAQ

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Is Good Friday a statutory public holiday in Austria?

No. Good Friday is not a general statutory public holiday in Austria. For most employees, it is a normal working day.

What is the personal holiday on Good Friday?

The personal holiday is not an additional free day, but a day of annual leave whose date can be set unilaterally once per leave year. Written notice must be given no later than three months in advance.

Are shops and supermarkets open on Good Friday?

Usually yes. Because Good Friday is not a general statutory public holiday, regular shops normally stay open according to Friday hours.

Why are schools often still closed on Good Friday?

In Austria, Good Friday regularly falls in the Easter school holidays. The day is therefore usually school-free because of the holidays, not because of its own public-holiday status.

What does Good Friday mean in the church year?

Good Friday commemorates the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is one of the quietest days of Holy Week and forms the serious threshold before Easter Sunday.

Background and Easter culture

The background explains meaning, liturgy, quiet rituals, fasting and the role of Good Friday in the wider Easter arc.

Holy Week

Meaning and liturgy

Why Good Friday weighs more religiously than its labour-law effect suggests.

In the Christian calendar, Good Friday commemorates the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That is exactly why it is not a cheerful start to the Easter weekend, but the quietest and most serious point of Holy Week. Liturgical language is reduced, symbols are sparse, and the focus is on Passion, loss, powerlessness and hope.

In Catholic and Protestant traditions, the day has a central role. Passion readings, intercessions, veneration of the cross, Passion music and Stations of the Cross prayers give it its own tone. Many people perceive this atmosphere even if they do not regularly attend church services.

Good Friday works on two levels: religiously it is one of the most important days of Holy Week, but in everyday life it is often a normal working day. Good information therefore answers both: what does the day mean in church terms, and what does it mean for work, school, shopping, travel and family planning?

Tradition

Quiet rituals and fasting

How the renunciation of festive customs shows itself on the quietest day of the year.

Good Friday is not a day for loud customs. It becomes visible more through reduction: less decoration, less festive food, less public bustle in church spaces. This restraint is exactly what makes the day culturally distinctive.

Passion

Good Friday commemorates the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus. The day is therefore not a pre-Easter celebration, but the serious centre of Holy Week.

Silence

Many services are deliberately reduced: less decoration, less festive tone, more reading, prayer, music and contemplation.

Hope

Good Friday does not stand alone. Only the contrast with Easter Sunday and Easter Monday explains why the day is so important in the Easter arc.

In many families, Good Friday is connected with simple food. Fish, bread, potatoes, soups or deliberately simple dishes fit the character of the day better than large Easter meals. Quiet ideas such as fish restaurants, regional inns, monastery products, fasting offers or calm cultural programmes fit well.

Simple Good Friday fasting meal with fish, bread and water
Seasonal

Easter and short breaks

How Good Friday shapes travel planning for the entire Easter weekend.

Good Friday never works in isolation. It stands between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday and shapes how the whole Easter weekend is perceived organisationally and emotionally. Anyone who has the day off starts the Easter block earlier; anyone who works often still plans around schools, family, church and travel traffic.

Good Friday requires tact in travel and excursion planning. Easter school holidays, early spring season, thermal spas, wellness hotels, family hotels, ski regions, fish cuisine and short breaks can fit if they are communicated calmly and do not sound like loud public-holiday programming.

Quiet Austrian Easter weekend table with fish dish in front of an Alpine hotel panorama
Next steps

Plan next

Useful tools to optimally plan holidays for the Easter period.

Good Friday is an important overview because several questions come together at once: is it free, how do I register the personal holiday, are shops open, are schools closed, and is an Easter holiday worthwhile?

For the next step, use the annual-leave planner, the school-holiday calendar and the calendar-week overview.

After that, look at Easter Monday, annual leave, Easter school holidays by federal state, church services, return travel and quiet excursion destinations.

Quellen & Weiterführendes

  1. RIS - Working Rest Act section 7 : nationwide public-holiday list and basis for public-holiday rest; Good Friday is not named there as a general public holiday.
  2. RIS - Working Rest Act section 7a : legal text on unilateral annual leave as a personal holiday.
  3. oesterreich.gv.at - school holiday calendar 2025/2026 : Easter school holidays from 28 March to 6 April 2026 and Easter Monday as a statutory public holiday.
  4. Liturgie.at - Good Friday : context for fasting, silence, contemplation and veneration of the cross.
  5. Protestant Church in Austria - Good Friday : church meaning and debate since the abolition of the former special rule.
  6. Easter Monday in Austria : the following statutory public holiday with general public-holiday rest.
  7. School holidays in Austria : check Easter school holidays and school-free days by federal state.
  8. Historical version: Before 2019 : Historical source for matrix years with a different holiday rule; current planning stays on this page.