Sunday shopping in Solothurn: the date is not in the gazette, it is in the act
In most cantons you wait for a publication. Not in Solothurn: the two Advent dates sit in the implementing act as a rule — they can be computed. We do that, and we say plainly that it is a computation and not a confirmation.
📅 Dates 2026 and evidence status
The dates below stand as the responsible authority published them for 2026 — nothing is carried over from last year. Where nothing is published, that is stated too.
Adventsverkauf Solothurn
rule, not confirmedSunday, 13 December 2026 · rule, not confirmed — § 16 EG ArG SO: «An den zwei dem 24. Dezember vorangehenden Sonntagen dürfen Arbeitnehmende in Verkaufsgeschäften bewilligungsfrei beschäftigt werden.»
- Organiser
- Regierungsrat des Kantons Solothurn
Source: Regierungsrat des Kantons Solothurn · checked on 13 September 2026
Adventsverkauf Solothurn
rule, not confirmedSunday, 20 December 2026 · rule, not confirmed — § 16 EG ArG SO: «An den zwei dem 24. Dezember vorangehenden Sonntagen dürfen Arbeitnehmende in Verkaufsgeschäften bewilligungsfrei beschäftigt werden.»
- Organiser
- Regierungsrat des Kantons Solothurn
Source: Regierungsrat des Kantons Solothurn · checked on 13 September 2026
🗓️ Is it open?
Type the date instead of working it out in your head.
📅 Visit-day check
Pick the day you are free — the answer comes from the verified ConvivaPlus dataset, not from a run you have to work out in your head.
| Session | Run | Opening hours | Evidence |
|---|
Calculated from the ConvivaPlus dataset — every row with its own source above.
🕐 Open on Sunday? — the radar
The same radar as on the Swiss overview, set here to this canton: date in, verdict with hours and statutory rule out.
Sunday Radar by Conviva Plus
Pick a canton and a date — and see what actually applies that day.
The law prescribes no opening hours of its own — the shop's usual hours apply.
What the law says: §§ 13, 15 und 16 EG ArG SO (BGS 822.13), vom 13.06.2010 · Source
Next documented date: For this year our dataset documents no further date.
The rule in 12 cantons — read at the legal source
They are deliberately absent from the table. An unread canton is an open question, not a zero — and while even one is missing, none of our pages claims «all cantons».
Appenzell Innerrhoden · Appenzell Ausserrhoden · Fribourg · Geneva · Glarus · Grisons · Jura · Neuchâtel · Nidwalden · Obwalden · Ticino · Uri · Vaud · Zug
⚖️ Cantonal rule verbatim
Who designates, how many Sundays are permitted and what hours the act sets — that is the canton's business, not the city's. Hence it sits here rather than beside a single date.
- Counted per
- canton
- At most
- 4
- Authorised by
- canton
- Hours in the law
- –
The law prescribes no opening hours of its own — the shop's usual hours apply.
Einfuehrungsgesetz zum Arbeitsgesetz, § 13: «Der Regierungsrat bezeichnet maximal vier Sonntage ... Zwei der bewilligungsfreien Sonntage dienen dem Saisonverkauf und zwei dem Adventsverkauf.» § 15: die zwei Saison-Sonntage werden zwei Jahre im Voraus festgelegt und vor Jahresbeginn im Amtsblatt publiziert; Gewerbeverband und Gewerkschaftsbund haben ein gemeinsames Vorschlagsrecht bis zum 31. Oktober. § 16 stellt die Adventsdaten als Regel ins Gesetz — sie sind damit rechenbar.
Solothurn · §§ 13, 15 und 16 EG ArG SO (BGS 822.13), vom 13.06.2010 · Source
🛍️ Shopping on Sunday — what differs here
Solothurn is the canton where you can work out the trading Sunday instead of hunting for it — and on this subject that is the exception. § 16 of the implementing act states on which days shop staff may be employed without a permit: «the two Sundays preceding 24 December». Not a date, a rule. Know the calendar and you know the dates.
⛔ And that is exactly why there is no green tick on this page. What is proven is the rule, not the single date — presenting a computed date as «confirmed» would assert a publication that does not exist. The Sunday Radar by Conviva Plus keeps the two states visibly apart: «documented» means we read an official publication; «computed from the rule» means the act carries the statement and the arithmetic is ours.
A second Solothurn trait, rare elsewhere in Switzerland: the two seasonal Sundays are fixed two years in advance (§ 15) — and the trade association and the trade union federation hold a joint right of proposal until 31 October. Planners therefore have more lead time here than almost anywhere else; and a shop wanting a say knows whom to address. Basel-Landschaft has a similar Advent rule — «the 2nd and 4th Sundays» — but expressly lets municipalities depart from it. Solothurn does not: the rule holds as it stands.
Which do you prefer: a published date or a rule in the act?
One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.
🎯 Practical tips for this trading Sunday
Three things that work differently in Solothurn.
- 1Work out the Advent dates yourself§ 16 names «the two Sundays preceding 24 December». If the 24th itself falls on a Sunday it does not count — it is the two before it.
- 2The seasonal Sundays are in the gazetteUnlike the Advent dates, the two seasonal Sundays are published, and before the year begins. That is the part of the Solothurn calendar which needs a source.
- 3No statutory hoursUnlike Basel-Stadt or Bern, Solothurn prescribes no time. Each shop's own hours apply. Arriving early means checking the shop's page, not the act.
- 4Designation is cantonalIn the canton of Solothurn the canton designates for its whole territory. Olten, Grenchen and the city of Solothurn therefore share the same days — unlike the canton of Zurich, where each municipality notifies its own.
🗺️ Nearby — other cities
Nationwide the ConvivaPlus Sunday trading survey holds 217 entries from 70 municipalities, 212 with a confirmed date. Solothurn is not among them — and here that is no shortcoming but the shape of the cantonal law. The documented season of the other cities runs from 25 January 2026 to 27 December 2026.
Of 26 cantons we have read 12 at source; 14 remain open and are named in the radar. Two of those 12 write their Advent dates into the act as a rule — Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft. All rules side by side sit on the Swiss overview, the Solothurn entries on the canton of Solothurn page.
Sunday trading nearby
❓ Frequent questions about this city
Answers taken from the statutory text and the official publication – no date is carried over from last year.
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
Basel-Landschaft — «the 2nd and 4th Sundays of Advent», though there municipalities may expressly depart from it.
Every cantonal rule compared →In the municipalities whose authority publishes them — we hold 212 confirmed dates in total.
Every documented Swiss Sunday trading day →Almost never — the exceptions sit in branch opening hours.
Sihlpost Zurich: opening hours →The ConvivaPlus verdict
Solothurn is the most comfortable case in this survey — and the one where we can assert least. Comfortable, because the Advent dates sit in the act and hold every year without anyone republishing them. Reserved, because that means exactly this: there is no publication we have read, and a computed date is arithmetic, not evidence.
In practice: for Advent you can safely do the arithmetic yourself in Solothurn. For the two seasonal Sundays a look at the gazette pays — that is the part of the calendar that needs a source, and it is settled two years ahead.
Freshness note: This page carries no confirmed date for 2026, only the rule from § 16. The computed Advent date is our deduction; the two seasonal Sundays are published by the canton and are not yet recorded here.
Check the latest: ConvivaPlus Sunday trading dataset 2026 – Solothurn →
- ◆A canton where you can compute the date. § 16 names «the two Sundays preceding 24 December» — not a date, a rule. If the 24th itself falls on a Sunday it does not count. Two of the 12 cantons we read work this way.
- ◆Two years' lead time, and the social partners have a say. Under § 15 the cantonal government fixes the two seasonal Sundays two years in advance; the trade association and the trade union federation hold a joint right of proposal until 31 October. Planning certainty like that is almost unheard of in this field.
ConvivaPlus Editor · Law & Housing
Writes about tenancy, contract and everyday law – legal texts turned into vetted templates.
- Tenancy law
- Contract law
- Templates
- Housing
All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch
Solothurn does not publish its Advent dates: § 16 names «the two Sundays preceding 24 December». Know the calendar and you know the dates — no gazette required.
Discussion
4 voices from the community
Bi üs mues me nid uf s Amtsblatt warte — im Gsetz staht, es sige die zwe Sunntig vor em 24. Dezämber. Chasch sälber usrächne. Das weiss nume niemert.
Ich finde es ehrlicher, wenn ihr schreibt, dass ihr das Datum rechnet statt es zu behaupten. Bei anderen Seiten steht einfach eine Zahl und niemand weiss, woher sie kommt.
Danke — genau deshalb steht bei den Solothurner Einträgen «Regel» und nicht «bestätigt». Belegt ist § 16 EG ArG, nicht das einzelne Datum. Sobald der Kanton die Saison-Sonntage publiziert, tragen wir sie als bestätigt nach.
Dass Gewerbeverband und Gewerkschaftsbund gemeinsam vorschlagen dürfen, wusste ich nicht. Erklärt, warum die Saison-Termine bei uns so früh feststehen.
Found an error or have feedback? Let us know or write to us directly.
🛍️ Sunday shopping · 13 September 2026