Store Hours in Germany

One of the interesting things about living in Germany is getting use to the times that stores are open. We don't have store that open 24 hours a day. They don't even stay open until 11pm. Store hours are regulated by law in Germany. Generally the larger stores are open from 9 or 10 am to 8 pm, Monday through Saturday. Stores are closed on Sunday.

Imagine if you will; Macys, Krogers, Target, Meyers, Andersons, Half-Price-Books, every store in every mall, all closed after 8pm and all day on Sunday.

The neighborhood stores keep even more restrictive hours than this. Most will open 8 or 8:30am to 12:30pm, then close for 2 hours before opening from 2:30pm to 6 or 6:30. This is done so that a single person can handle the store through the day while still maintaining some store hours before people head to work and after the come home.

Bakeries tend to be open earlier (as early as 7am) so that people can go out and get fresh bread for their breakfast. Neighborhood bakeries are likely closed before people leave to go home from work. Bakeries attached to grocery stores will stay open later

So what do you do if you need something a 9pm or on Sunday? Gasoline stations operate convenience stores that allow people to get some necessities outside of normal store hours. Train stations in larger cities also have stores that have longer hours. For towns near a border, some people cross over to stores in a neighboring country that doesn't have such restrictions.

While for an American, these hours might seem restrictive, for Germans they are historically quite long. When I lived here in 1991, stores were only allowed to be open 9-6 Monday through Friday. On Saturday, stores were open 9-2. Thursdays were called "Long Thursday" because stores were permitted to stay open until 8pm this one day per week. And one Saturday per month was designated "Long Saturday" because stores stayed open until 6pm.

Actually, I have come to find these hours quite satisfactory. For me, it is a part of the country's rhythm of living here and it feels right. Yes, it does require a little thinking ahead, but that really is not a bad thing. And it does take a bite out of impulse buying that is a part of "shopping as recreation". This I actually consider a major advantage.

Why would a capitalist country like Germany place such restrictions on stores? There was a recent court case in Berlin that provided some insights. Stores in Berlin the last couple of years have agreed to stay open the four Sundays before Christmas. This case found this practice to be illegal and will not be permitted in the future. In the aftermath of this decision, I was listening to politicians and representatives of the church praise the court's decision on the grounds that the current laws are there to allow people to have time with their family, supporting the importance of the families as a strength of the country.

Can you imagine a politician or church representative making such an argument in the USA? Even (especially) ones that go on and on about "family values"?