Sunrise and sunset in Germany

Average length of day in Berlin

The following graph shows the times of sunrise and sunset over the course of the year. The duration of twilight can be seen at the top and bottom edges. The vertical offset between March and October shows the effect of daylight saving time, when the time is set one hour ahead.
      sunshine duration       twilight phase

Sunrise and sunset in the most important cities of Germany

The cities are ordered by their geographic position from east to west, so in an approximate direction of the sun's course. Since the orbit around the sun is elliptical, sunrise or sunset never happen on a whole longitude at the same time. All data given for February 8th., localtime in Germany

Direction of the sun's course

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. In Asia, for example, it is already day while you are still sleeping in Germany. On the other hand, the Americans are much later and only get up when it is noon in Germany.

The winter time is — as long as it is not yet abolished — the normal time, which is also aligned to the optimal course of the sun. At 12 noon, the sun is exactly to the south. In summertime, there is an artificial shift in Germany that ensures that it becomes bright later. Then the actual noon time is one hour later, and the sun does not reach its zenith until 13:00.

Sunrise and sunset by month (Berlin)

Where does the sun rise in Germany?

The sun always rises in the east, everywhere and regardless of the country or continent. The easternmost city in Germany is Görlitz in the state of Saxony. There, the sun rises at 7:22 am and sets at 5:05 pm these days. The latest sunset is currently experienced in the west in the city of Selfkant (North Rhine-Westphalia) at 17:42.

Duration of the sunset

The distance from the equator and the path of the sun determines not only the time of sunrise and sunset. The farther a country is from the equator, the more oblique the sun's path is to the horizon, causing sunset to last for a different duration. Berlin lies on the 53rd degree of northern latitude and is therefore very far away from the equator. While a sunset near the equator lasts only about 20 minutes, in Germany, this period averages 53 minutes. In June, it's about 65 minutes in Berlin, while in December it's 42 minutes.

International cities for comparison