diff --git a/openhab.conf b/openhab.conf
index d70c85d..71ecd8c 100644
--- a/openhab.conf
+++ b/openhab.conf
@@ -22,4 +22,4 @@
 TZ=Europe/Berlin
 
 # language
-OPENHAB_LANG=de_DE
+OPENHAB_LANG=de_DE.UTF-8