Editing Shopping hours (section)

===Germany===
In [[Germany]], shopping days and opening hours were previously regulated by a federal law called the "Shop Closing Law" (''[[Ladenschlussgesetz]]''), first enacted in 1956 and last revised on 13 March 2003. On 7 July 2006, however, the federal government handed over the authority to regulate shopping hours to the sixteen states (''Länder''). Since then, states have been allowed to pass their own laws regulating opening hours.

The federal ''Ladenschlussgesetz'' still applies in Bavaria and Saarland, which have not passed their own laws. Under this law, shops may not open prior to 6 am and may not stay open later than 8 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Shops must also stay closed on Sundays and public holidays (both federal and state), and special rules apply concerning [[Christmas Eve]] (December 24) should that day fall on a weekday.

There are several exceptions, including petrol stations and shops located in railway stations and airports, which may stay open past the normal hours. Most petrol stations in larger cities, and all situated on [[Autobahn]]s, are open twenty-four hours. Shops in so-called "tourist zones" may also open outside the normal hours, but they are restricted to selling souvenirs, handcrafted articles and similar tourist items. In connection with fairs and public market days, communities are allowed four days per year (normally Sundays) on which shops may open outside the normal restrictions; such shop openings may not take place during primary church services and they must close by 6 pm. Bakeries may open for business at 5.30 am and may also open for a limited time on Sundays. Restaurants, bars, theatres, and cultural establishments are generally unaffected by the shop opening time restrictions. As most public holidays in Germany are religiously based, and since the religious holidays ([[Protestant]] and [[Catholic]]) are not uniform across Germany, shops may be closed due to a public holiday in one state, and open in a neighbouring state. Bavaria even differentiates between cities with Protestant or Catholic majorities.

The ''Ladenschlussgesetz'' has been the subject of controversy, as larger stores (and many of their customers) would prefer to have fewer restrictions on shopping hours, while trade unions, small shop owners and the church are opposed to a further loosening of the rules. On June 9, 2004, the German supreme court (''Bundesverfassungsgericht'') rejected a claim by the German department store chain ''[[Kaufhof|Kaufhof AG]]'' that the shop-closing law was unconstitutional. Among other things, the court cited Article 140 of the German constitution ''([[Grundgesetz]])'' (which in turn invokes Article 139 of the 1919 [[Weimar Constitution]]) protecting Sundays and public holidays as days of rest and recuperation. Nonetheless, the court in effect invited the federal parliament (''[[Bundestag]]'') to reconsider whether the states should regulate hours instead of the federal government.

So far, no state has passed a regulation that allows general store opening on Sundays.

States with no restrictions from Monday to Saturday and varying regulations for Sunday:
*[[Baden-Württemberg]]
*[[Berlin]]
*[[Brandenburg]]
*[[Bremen]]
*[[Hamburg]]
*[[Hesse]]
*[[Lower Saxony]]
*[[Schleswig-Holstein]]

States with no restrictions from Monday to Friday and varying regulations for Saturday and Sunday:
*[[Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]]
*[[North Rhine-Westphalia]]
*[[Saxony-Anhalt]]
*[[Thuringia]]

States where shops can open between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. from Monday to Saturday; regulations for Sunday vary:
*[[Rhineland-Palatinate]]
*[[Saxony]]

States with no liberalisation of opening hours exceeding the federal ''Ladenschlussgesetz'':
*[[Bavaria]]
*[[Saarland]]