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Spain · History

Spain's temporary hour

Spain has been living on a temporary hour since 1940.

Checked: true

The story holds up against the record.

Published · checked against 9 sources
Part one · in the video's text mask style

The legend says

Spain has been living on a temporary hour since nineteen forty.

This weekend, the clocks go back. Everyone gets an hour of sleep.

But look where Spain sits. Straight on London's line.

Yet its clocks tell Berlin's time.

Back then, an order moved the clocks forward, to keep step with other European countries.

It said a date to undo it would come later. It never did.

So here, the sun runs late. In summer it's still light deep into the evening.

This weekend, we get an hour back. The temporary one, we keep.

This is the story as it is told. We tell it as a story. Below is what the record holds.

But
Part two

The record shows

8 facts, each checked against a source we opened. Tap a source to read the line that carries it.

  1. 01

    Winter time starts in the night of 24–25 Oct 2026: on the mainland and the Balearics, at 03:00 the clocks go back to 02:00

    1boe.es, Orden PCM/186/2022
    2026: Domingo, 25 de octubre
    1boe.es, Orden PCM/186/2022
    a las tres horas de la madrugada … se retrasará sesenta minutos
    2publico.es
    El paso al horario de invierno se producirá durante la madrugada del 24 al 25 de octubre de 2026. … En la Península y Balears, cuando sean las 03.00 horas, habrá que mover las agujas una hora hacia atrás, hasta las 02.00.
  2. 02

    Order of 7 March 1940 (BOE 8 March 1940): the legal hour moved forward 60 minutes, on Saturday 16 March at 23:00

    3boe.es, BOE núm. 68, 8 Mar 1940, p. 1675
    adelantada la hora legal en sesenta minutos
  3. 03

    The order gave as its reason keeping the national time in step with other European countries

    3boe.es, BOE núm. 68, 8 Mar 1940, p. 1675
    Considerando la conveniencia de que el horario nacional marche de acuerdo con el de otros países europeos
    4IGN, Planesas 2013
    a fin de que el horario nacional marchara de acuerdo con los de otros países europeos, en particular con el de Francia, que había adelantado su horario legal el 25 de febrero anterior
  4. 04

    It was meant to be temporary: the order called the change an "adelanto temporal" and said the date to restore normal time would be set later. That date never came

    3boe.es, BOE núm. 68, 8 Mar 1940, p. 1675
    adelanto temporal
    3boe.es, BOE núm. 68, 8 Mar 1940, p. 1675
    Oportunamente se señalará la fecha en que haya de restablecerse la hora normal
    4IGN, Planesas 2013
    pretendía ser transitorio, resultó ser definitivo
    5Euronews es, 2026-03-27
    se presentó como provisional, pero nunca se revirtió
    6Wikipedia, "Time in Spain"
    At the time it was considered a temporary wartime decision that would be revoked a few years later, but the revocation never happened.
  5. 05

    Since then, mainland Spain has kept Central European Time, the same as Berlin

    4IGN, Planesas 2013
    desde entonces la hora legal en España va ligada a la 'hora de Europa central' (CET)
    7Wikipedia, "Western European Time"
    Spain (except Canary Islands) which use Central European Time (CET) even though these are mostly or completely west of 7.5°E
  6. 06

    Most of Spain lies in the time zone centred on the Greenwich meridian (zone 0), the zone of Britain and Portugal (WET/GMT)

    4IGN, Planesas 2013
    la mayor parte del territorio español se encuentra en el huso número 0 (el que está centrado en el meridiano de Greenwich)
    7Wikipedia, "Western European Time"
    The nominal span of the UTC+00:00 time zone is 7.5°E to 7.5°W (0° ± 7.5°) … Portugal, since 1912 with pauses … United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies
  7. 07

    Because of this, sunrise and sunset in Spain come about an hour later than its geography would give

    6Wikipedia, "Time in Spain"
    an hour later than GMT
  8. 08

    In June the sun sets in Barcelona at about 21:27 on average; the latest sunset of the year is 21:30 (25 June, Europe/Madrid)

    8solarwatch.app (Barcelona, Spain sun times)
    June 6:18 AM 9:27 PM … Latest sunset 9:30 PM June 25
    9telescoper.blog, 2024 solstice
    sunset at 21:28

Timeline

On recordTradition only
  1. 1940-02-25France moves its clocksFrance moves its clocks. Weeks later, Spain's order cites keeping in step with other European countries.
  2. 1940-03-07The orderA Spanish order moves the legal hour forward 60 minutes, "temporarily", and promises a date to restore normal time.
  3. 1940-03-16Clocks forwardAt 23:00 the clocks go forward. The date to undo it never comes.
  4. 2026-10-25Winter timeAt 03:00 mainland Spain and the Balearics turn their clocks back to 02:00. The 1940 hour stays.

Left out on purpose

What we chose not to say in the video, and why. If a comment says "you forgot…", the answer is probably here.

"Franco did it for Hitler"

Disputed. The order itself cites other European countries, and Germany only moved its own clocks in April. Euronews quotes the astronomer Pere Planesas calling the Nazi-gesture story "un bulo".

Late Spanish meal and work hours

The link is disputed, so the video doesn't claim it.

The exact clock times (03:00 → 02:00, 21:30) and the date 16 March

They would blow the two-number budget; the clock faces have no numerals.

The Canary Islands (an hour behind), Galicia's position, the 2018 expert commission and the EU's plan to end clock changes

Not the story.

From DornyxDornyx Stories Interactive history you can live through. Barcelona and beyond.Explore Dornyx Stories →
Read the video's transcript

Leo Spain has been living on a temporary hour since nineteen forty.

Sara This weekend, the clocks go back. Everyone gets an hour of sleep.

Leo But look where Spain sits. Straight on London's line.

Sara Yet its clocks tell Berlin's time.

Leo Back then, an order moved the clocks forward, to keep step with other European countries.

Sara It said a date to undo it would come later. It never did.

Leo So here, the sun runs late. In summer it's still light deep into the evening.

Sara This weekend, we get an hour back. The temporary one, we keep.

Sara Stories first, facts follow. Follow Dornix.

Sources

  1. boe.es, Orden PCM/186/2022
  2. publico.es
  3. boe.es, BOE núm. 68, 8 Mar 1940, p. 1675
  4. IGN, Planesas 2013
  5. Euronews es, 2026-03-27
  6. Wikipedia, "Time in Spain"
  7. Wikipedia, "Western European Time"
  8. solarwatch.app (Barcelona, Spain sun times)
  9. telescoper.blog, 2024 solstice

Found a mistake? Send us your source. If it holds, we correct this page and note the change here.