2026 in Germany

Events in the year 2026 in Germany.

Incumbents

• President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
• Chancellor: Friedrich Merz

Events

January

• 1 January – Two people are killed in fireworks-related incidents during New Year's celebrations in Bielefeld.
• 3 January – An arson attack on cables in Berlin causes a blackout affecting 40,000 households. Left-wing Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) claims responsibility and calls it a protest against fossil fuel usage and AI data centers.
• 6 January – The governing coalition between the SPD and the BSW in Brandenburg is replaced by a new coalition between the SPD and the CDU.
• 7 January – The government formally recognizes and establishes diplomatic relations with Niue, coordinating ties from the embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.
• 8–11 January – 2026 Men's EuroHockey Indoor Championship in Heidelberg.
• 20 January – Thousands of people protest across Dortmund, Frankfurt, and Bremen, in support of Kurdish forces against the Syrian Armed Forces in clashes in northeastern Syria.
• 21 January – A dual German-Ukrainian citizen is arrested in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russia. The incident results in the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Germany the next day.
• 23 January – A Lebanese national is arrested at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on suspicion of membership in Hamas and plotting a terrorist attack in Europe.
• 28 January – Sven Schulze is elected as minister-president of Saxony-Anhalt.

February

• 2 February –
• A nationwide strike is held by ver.di demanding shortened shifts for public workers and increased bonuses, causing extensive disruption to public transportation.
• Five people are arrested in Lübeck and Lauenburg on suspicion of illegally exporting goods to Russian defense companies.
• 3 February – Two people are arrested on suspicion of plotting to sabotage several corvettes destined for the German Navy at a shipyard in Hamburg in 2025.
• 5 February – The Federal Cartel Office orders Amazon, Inc. to return 59 million euros ($70 million) in profits from unfair trading practices.
• 25 February – A suspect in the 2025 murder of Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov is arrested in Heinsberg.
• 26 February – A court in Cologne issues an injunction against the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution's designation of the AfD as an extremist organization pending a judicial review.

March

• 5 March – A court in Berlin convicts a Syrian national for carrying out a antisemitic knife attack at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe that injured one person in 2025 and sentences him to 13 years' imprisonment.
• 8 March
• 2026 Baden-Württemberg state election: The Greens win a plurality of 30.2% in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg, the CDU win 29,7% and the AfD win 18.8% in the Landtag.
• A meteorite strikes a roof of a house in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. No one is injured.
• 12 March – German economic crisis: Lufthansa pilots organize a 48-hour strike over ongoing pension dispute, causing major delays at all German airports.
• 19 March – Germany drops out of defending Israel in the International Court of Justice's genocide case against Israel, citing their need to defend themselves in a separate case launched against them by Nicaragua.
• 22 March – 2026 Rhineland-Palatinate state election
• The CDU won with 31.0% of votes, while the SPD, which led the state government since 1991, suffered heavy losses and fell to second place with 25.9% of votes.
• The AfD climbed to third place by doubling its vote share to 19.5%, the highest in Western German states.
• The FDP and FW both lost votes, failed to reach the five percent hurdle and lost their parliamentary representation.
• 29 March – A nightclub burns down in Kehl, Baden-Württemberg. All 750 people inside were evacuated, three of whom are treated for shock.

Predicted and scheduled

• 27 May – 2026 UEFA Conference League final in Leipzig.
• 11–23 August – 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen.
• 4–13 September – 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Berlin.
• 6 September – 2026 Saxony-Anhalt state election
• 20 September – 2026 Berlin state election
• 20 September – 2026 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election
• 31 December – The television channels One, Tagesschau24 and Alpha will close.

Holidays

• 1 January – New Year's Day
• 6 January – Epiphany
• 8 March – International Women's Day
• 2 April – Maundy Thursday
• 3 April – Good Friday
• 5 April – Easter Sunday
• 6 April – Easter Monday
• 1 May – International Workers' Day
• 9 May – Ascension Day
• 24 May – Whit Sunday
• 25 May – Whit Monday
• 4 June – Corpus Christi
• 15 August – Assumption Day
• 20 September – Children's Day
• 3 October – German Unity Day
• 31 October – Reformation Day
• 1 November – All Saints' Day
• 18 November – Repentance Day
• 25 December – Christmas Day
• 26 December – Saint Stephen's Day

Art and entertainment

• List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Deaths

January

• 1 January – Hubertus von Pilgrim, 94, sculptor
• 2 January – Lajos Rovátkay, 92, harpsichordist and musicologist
• 4 January – Klaus Keitel, 87, politician
• 6 January – Kathleen Muxel, 54, member of the Landtag of Brandenburg (since 2019)
• 7 January – Dietrich Stratmann, 89, physicist and politician
• 8 January – Jürgen Plagemann, 90, rower
• 9 January - Hans Herrmann , 98, racing driver
• 12 January – Martin Willich, 80, politician
• 19 January – Peter Radunski, 86, politician
• 20 January – Wolfgang Heichel, 75, singer (Dschingskhan)
• 21 January – Rüdiger Erben, 58, member of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt (2006, since 2011)
• 22 January – Francis Buchholz, 71, musician and bass guitarist
• 29 January – Stefan Gossler, 71, actor
• 31 January – Gisela Engeln-Müllges, 85, mathematician

February

• 1 February – Rita Süssmuth, 88, president of the Bundestag (1988–1998) and federal minister for youth, family and health (1985–1988)
• 3 February – Herbert Sukopp, 95, ecologist
• 5 February - Brigitte Groneberg, 82, assyriologist and philologist
• 11 February –
• Christoph Luitpold Frommel, 92, art historian
• Helmuth Rilling, 92, choral conductor
• Peter Meyer, 85, footballer

March

• 1 March – Käthe Menzel-Jordan, 109, architect
• 14 March – Jürgen Habermas, 96, philosopher and sociologist (The Theory of Communicative Action)
• 21 March - Carsten Träger, 52, politician (SPD)
• 21 March - Heinz Wiese, 81, politician (CDU)
• 25 March - Alexander Kluge, 94, author, philosopher and film director

See also

• 2026 in the European Union
• 2026 in Europe

References

External links

• Online calendar