Time change: Winter time in Germany - clocks are set back

It's winter time : With the change from 3:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daylight saving time ended in Germany and most European countries on Sunday. Standard time, also known as winter time, will now return for half a year. It ends on Sunday, March 29, 2026, when the clocks will be put forward again.

The signal for the automatic clock change in Germany comes from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig. The agency's experts ensure that all the necessary clocks are supplied with the signal via a longwave transmitter. The transmitter, called DCF77, is located in Mainflingen, Hesse.

The goal of daylight saving is to make better use of daylight. However, critics repeatedly question its energy-saving effect.