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Public Holidays in the Canton of Fribourg (FR)
— 2026 🎉

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Planning your 2026 breaks in Fribourg?

Here’s a clear, comprehensive guide—plus a quick story behind the main feast days, a handy table, and a few local tips so you can make the most of each long weekend.

ℹ️ In Fribourg, public holidays differ by region. The canton is officially split between a Catholic part and a Reformed (Protestant) part—and each side observes a slightly different set of days off. The official 2026 list below comes straight from the State of Fribourg.

The official list for 2026

Catholic part of the canton

  • New Year’s Day — Thu 1 Jan
  • Good Friday — Fri 3 Apr
  • Ascension — Thu 14 May
  • Corpus Christi (Fête-Dieu) — Thu 4 Jun
  • Swiss National Day — Sat 1 Aug
  • Assumption of Mary — Sat 15 Aug
  • All Saints’ Day — Sun 1 Nov
  • Immaculate Conception — Tue 8 Dec
  • Christmas Day — Fri 25 Dec.

Reformed part of the canton

  • New Year’s Day — Thu 1 Jan
  • Berchtold’s Day (Jan 2) — Fri 2 Jan
  • Good Friday — Fri 3 Apr
  • Easter Monday — Mon 6 Apr
  • Ascension — Thu 14 May
  • Whit Monday (Pentecost Monday) — Mon 25 May
  • Swiss National Day — Sat 1 Aug
  • Christmas Day — Fri 25 Dec
  • St Stephen’s Day (Dec 26) — Sat 26 Dec

Reformed communes include

Courgevaux, Fräschels, Greng, Kerzers, Meyriez, Muntelier, Murten/Morat, Ried bei Kerzers, Ulmiz, Mont-Vully, and the localities of Flamatt and Sensebrügg in Wünnewil-Flamatt.

Quick-glance table (2026)

Date Day Holiday Catholic Part Reformed Part Notes
1 Jan Thu New Year’s Day ✅ ✅ Start of the year 🎆
2 Jan Fri Berchtold’s Day — ✅ Traditional in many German-speaking areas 🥨
3 Apr Fri Good Friday ✅ ✅ Christian commemoration
6 Apr Mon Easter Monday — ✅ Day after Easter Sunday
14 May Thu Ascension ✅ ✅ 40 days after Easter
25 May Mon Whit Monday — ✅ 50 days after Easter
4 Jun Thu Corpus Christi ✅ — Catholic procession day ✝️
1 Aug Sat Swiss National Day ✅ ✅ The only federal holiday 🇨🇭
15 Aug Sat Assumption of Mary ✅ — Major Marian feast 🌿
1 Nov Sun All Saints’ Day ✅ — Commemoration of all saints 🕯️
8 Dec Tue Immaculate Conception ✅ — Marian dogma (1854) ✨
25 Dec Fri Christmas Day ✅ ✅ Nativity of Jesus 🎄
26 Dec Sat St Stephen’s Day — ✅ First Christian martyr 🔶

Legend: ✅ observed; — not observed (for that part of the canton)

The stories behind the main days

(in a nutshell)

  • Good Friday (3 Apr) marks the crucifixion of Jesus. In Switzerland it’s a widely observed solemn day; many shops close and public transport can run on a Sunday/holiday timetable.
  • Ascension (14 May) celebrates Christ’s ascension, observed 40 days after Easter across most of Switzerland.
  • Whit (Pentecost) Monday (25 May, Reformed part) commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit; it’s the day after Pentecost Sunday.
  • Corpus Christi / Fête-Dieu (4 Jun, Catholic part) honors the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The feast spread from Liège in the 1200s and became universal under Pope Urban IV in 1264—hence the processions you may see in Catholic regions.
  • Assumption of Mary (15 Aug, Catholic part) celebrates the belief that Mary was taken body and soul into heaven—a feast rooted in early Christian tradition and defined as dogma in 1950.
  • All Saints’ Day (1 Nov, Catholic part) honors all saints. The November 1 date took hold in the early Middle Ages and was ordered for general observance by Pope Gregory IV in 837.
  • Immaculate Conception (8 Dec, Catholic part) marks the Catholic dogma proclaimed in 1854 that Mary was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception.
  • St Stephen’s Day (26 Dec, Reformed part) recalls Christianity’s first martyr, traditionally kept on 26 December in the Western church.
  • Berchtold’s Day (2 Jan, Reformed part) is an Alemannic New-Year custom popular in many German-speaking cantons; in Fribourg it’s observed only in the Reformed communes.

Nice facts

popular Swiss holidays not generally observed across Fribourg

  • St Joseph’s Day (19 Mar) — a public holiday in several other Catholic cantons (e.g., Ticino, Valais, Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden, Lucerne, parts of Graubünden), but not an official FR holiday in 2026.
  • Labour Day (1 May) — a holiday in many cantons (e.g., Zürich, Basel-Stadt), but not on the official FR list. Also note that in Switzerland, only 1 August is a federal holiday; other days vary by canton.
  • Jeûne genevois (Geneva’s Fast Day) — Geneva-only holiday on Thu 10 Sep 2026.
  • Lundi du Jeûne (Vaud’s Fast Monday) — Vaud-only holiday on Mon 21 Sep 2026.

Practical tips for enjoying (and surviving) the holidays 🧭

  • Check your commune: If you live near the FR/VD/BE borders—or in a Reformed FR commune—your holiday set may differ from friends a few kilometers away. The canton’s official PDF lists the exact communes for the Reformed part.
  • Retail & timetables: Expect Sunday/holiday schedules on public transport and widespread shop closures on most listed days.
  • Processions & culture: In Catholic areas, Corpus Christi often features processions; it’s a lovely day for photos—please be respectful around churches.
  • Plan long weekends: 2026 gives you tidy spring ladders—Ascension (Thu 14 May) and Corpus Christi (Thu 4 Jun) in the Catholic part; Whit Monday (Mon 25 May) in the Reformed part.
  • Watch the Saturday/Sunday effect: 1 Aug (Sat), 15 Aug (Sat), 1 Nov (Sun) and 26 Dec (Sat) won’t extend the weekend unless your employer grants a bridge day.