Ruhezeit: What you need to know about quiet hours in Germany

Germany loves rules, including rules about doing nothing. Ruhezeit rules are imposed daily, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to get some peace and quiet. Here's what you need to know about Ruhezeit (quiet hours) in Germany.

What is Ruhezeit?

Ruhezeit (quiet time) is an official daily timeframe in Germany, during which it is forbidden to do certain activities in case you disturb the communal “peace and quiet” time.

When are quiet hours in Germany?

Beneath the umbrella term Ruhezeit, there are more specific types of quiet time, such as Mittagsruhe (afternoon quiet time), Nachtruhe (nighttime quiet) and Sonn- und Feiertagsruhe (quiet time on Sundays and public holidays).

Nachtruhe (nighttime quiet hours)

Nachtruhe is the most common and well-known kind of Ruhezeit in Germany. Part of the State Emissions Protection Law (Landesimmissionschutz-Gesetz), Nachtruhe forbids noisy activities between 10pm and 6 or 7am, depending on the federal state. For noisy outdoor activities like mowing the grass, Ruhezeit begins at 8pm.

Sonn- und Feiertagsruhe (quiet time on Sundays and public holidays)

The second-most regular kind of Ruhezeit is Sonn- und Feiertagsruhe. Sonn- und Feiertagsruhe means that every Sunday and during public holidays in Germany you should refrain from noisy activities for an entire 24 hours.

Mittagsruhe (afternoon quiet hours)

Last comes Mittagsruhe, which tends to run between 12pm and 1 or 3pm, depending on the area. However, Mittagsruhe is not as strictly adhered to as the aforementioned Ruhezeiten and as such, there are no nationwide Mittagsruhe rules in Germany. You can check whether your federal state or region has rules about Mittagsruhe.

What is forbidden during quiet hours in Germany?

So now that we know the timetable, what does Ruhezeit actually mean? How quiet do we have to be during quiet time and what activities are expressly forbidden?

Indoor activities

During every kind of Ruhezeit, activities which are louder than “room volume level” are forbidden, such as drilling, hoovering, hammering or playing music that your neighbours can hear. Because of shift work, there are slightly more flexible rules around using the washing machine during Ruhezeit, but it is advisable to check your rental contract before doing a load at 10pm. Additionally, crying babies, of course, do not have to respect Ruhezeit.

Outdoor activities

Outdoor activities, such as leaf blowing, washing your car, trimming hedges and mowing the lawn, should all be avoided during Ruhezeit hours. But there are even more specific rules for any outdoor machinery that is louder than 88 decibels - these tools can only be used between 9am and 1pm and between 3pm and 7pm.

Communal celebrations

Generally, when it comes to what is forbidden during Ruhezeit, common sense applies. The only less logical part of Ruhezeit rules comes with communal celebrations. For example, on a public holiday in Germany, you should respect Ruhezeit and not be drilling all day, but in the centre of a town or city a very loud annual celebration, such as May Day or carnival parades, may be taking place.

Ruhezeit does not necessarily mean that the country shuts down, just that it is time to relax and have fun.

Image credit: Mo Photography Berlin / Shutterstock.com / A sign outside a long-running Berlin nightclub asking new neighbours to be understanding about noise.

Noise complaints: What if someone breaks Ruhezeit rules in Germany?

Breaking the Ruhezeit rules in Germany can have a wide range of consequences, from harmless to pretty serious. 

Usually, the first step would be to ask someone to keep it down. For example, if you are chatting loudly outside a bar or Späti past 10pm, the owner or upstairs neighbours might tell you to lower your voices. If you are at home drilling or playing loud music, your neighbour might come around and tell you to be quiet or leave a complaint note on the wall in the stairway for everyone to see.

Some groups of neighbours may have an agreement to solve conflicts amicably among themselves, rather than reporting them to landlords, but this can’t be counted on. If you consistently disrupt Ruhezeit rules, your neighbour might complain about you to the house management (Hausverwaltung), so it’s wise to avoid things being escalated to this level. Since following quiet time rules is written into most rental contracts, breaking them consistently in a serious way could result in you being evicted.

For this reason, if you think you might have to break the Ruhezeit rules, for instance if you have to build a child’s bed and have no time outside of Ruhezeit hours, or you are hosting a birthday party which will run past 10pm, it is courteous to leave a note in the common area letting your neighbours know in advance.

In the case of a party, it is also typical to leave your name, flat number and phone number so neighbours can contact you if you’re being too loud, alongside an open invitation for them to drop by if they would like to join the party.

Thumb image credit: DJTaylor / Shutterstock.com