Autonomous school days in Austria: how many and where they fit
Choose your province and school year: the calculator shows the maximum number of autonomous days, the breaks, and every school day squeezed between two days off.
School year 2026/27 in Vienna
at most 3 autonomous days off
26 October 2026 is a Monday; that sets the maximum under section 2(5) of the School Hours Act.
| First day of school | Mon 7 September |
| Semester break | Mon 1 February – Sat 6 February |
| Easter break | Sat 20 March – Mon 29 March |
| Last day of school | Fri 2 July |
| School days Monday to Friday | 184 |
Each school decides its own autonomous days (school forum or school partnership committee). The list only shows where they fit best; ask your school.
| School day(s) | Days | Off in a row if declared free |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 7 December | 1 | 4 days |
| Thu 7 January – Fri 8 January | 2 | 18 days |
| Fri 7 May | 1 | 4 days |
| Fri 28 May | 1 | 4 days |
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · laws checked on RIS on 28 October 2026
Autonomous school days (schulautonome Tage) are days a school may declare free on its own. Under section 2(5) of the School Hours Act the maximum depends on the weekday of 26 October: two if National Day falls on a Sunday, three on a Monday or Saturday, four otherwise. In the 2026/27 school year 26 October is a Monday, so the maximum is 3; in 2027/28 it is a Tuesday, giving 4. On top of that, every school has a fixed autumn break from 27 to 31 October. Each school decides which days: the school forum at compulsory schools, the school partnership committee at secondary schools. The education authority may add one more day in special cases. There is therefore no binding national list. The calculator shows the school days that sit between two days off and are the natural candidates; in Vienna in 2026/27 these include 7 December 2026, before the Immaculate Conception, and 7 and 8 January after the Christmas break. Ask your child's school which days it has adopted.
The rule in the School Hours Act
Section 2(5) of the School Hours Act ties the number to 26 October. On a Sunday at most two days are possible, on a Monday or Saturday three, on any other weekday four. For the next school years:
| School year | 26 October | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Sunday | 2 |
| 2026/27 | Monday | 3 |
| 2027/28 | Tuesday | 4 |
| 2028/29 | Thursday | 4 |
| 2029/30 | Friday | 4 |
Where autonomous days fit in 2026/27
| School day(s) | Days | Off in a row if declared free |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 7 December | 1 | 4 |
| Thu 7 January – Fri 8 January | 2 | 18 |
| Fri 7 May | 1 | 4 |
| Fri 28 May | 1 | 4 |
The table is for Vienna; choose your province in the calculator above. Differences come from the patron saint's day and the semester break, which in 2027 starts on 1 February 2027 in Lower Austria and Vienna, on 8 February 2027 in Burgenland, Carinthia, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, and on 15 February 2027 in Upper Austria and Styria. At the joint request of a province and its education directorate the ministry can move that province's semester break by a week; your education directorate publishes the dates in force.
Looking ahead to 2027/28
Up to 4 days are possible in 2027/28. The best value is 7 January 2028: one school day for 17 days off in a row.
| School day(s) | Days | Off in a row if declared free |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 25 October | 1 | 11 |
| Mon 6 December – Tue 7 December | 2 | 5 |
| Thu 9 December – Fri 10 December | 2 | 5 |
| Fri 7 January | 1 | 17 |
| Fri 26 May | 1 | 4 |
| Fri 16 June | 1 | 4 |
Working parents who need to cover autonomous days will find matching bridge days in the bridge-day planner; the patron saint's day is explained on provincial holidays.
School year 2027/28 in Vienna
School year 2027/28 in Vienna
at most 4 autonomous days off
| First day of school | Mon 6 September |
| Semester break | Mon 7 February – Sat 12 February |
| Easter break | Sat 8 April – Mon 17 April |
| Last day of school | Fri 30 June |