Time Zones in Germany

Time Zone Currently Being Used in Germany

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Example City	Current Time
UTC +1	CET	Central European Time	Berlin	Fri, 5:48:00 am

How Many Time Zones Are There in Germany?

There is only one time zone in Germany. Central European Time (CET) is used as standard time, while Central European Summer Time (CEST) is observed when Daylight Saving Time (DST) is in force.

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Time Zone Not Currently Being Observed in Germany

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Commences
UTC +2	CEST	Central European Summer Time	Mar 30, 2025

The above time zone is used during other parts of the year. It will become active again after the next clock change as Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.

Time Zone History of Germany

Germany standardized its civil time in 1893. Until then, solar time was used. In Berlin, this was 53 minutes and 28 seconds ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which was then the world's time standard.

By advancing clocks across the country by 6 minutes and 32 seconds in 1893, Germany entered the time zone it still uses today. It is 1 hour ahead of the modern-day time standard, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Did East Germany Have a Different Time Zone?

Between 1949 and 1990, Germany was divided into East and West Germany. However, the political division was not reflected in terms of local time: both areas observed the same time zone.

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