Qibla direction in Nuremberg

How to face the Qibla in Nuremberg

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 40.5° towards south: the result is the bearing of 130.5°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Nuremberg.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Nuremberg, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Nuremberg is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Nuremberg to Mecca points to 140.7° (south-east), 10.2° away from the correct 130.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 15 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.

The value of 130.5° is the direction in which the shortest route from 49.4542° N, 11.0775° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Nuremberg to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,013 km from Nuremberg as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,718 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 13 min, although most pilgrims from Nuremberg connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Nuremberg run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Nuremberg rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Nuremberg

On 327 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Nuremberg while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 January 2027 it happens at 08:48 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Nuremberg during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Nuremberg: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Nuremberg compared with other cities

Compared with Berlin, 378 km away, the Qibla in Nuremberg is turned 6.2° further anticlockwise (130.5° against 136.7°), and Mecca is 117 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Erlangen (16 km), prays towards 130.6°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.

Across the 63 cities in Germany on this site, the Qibla ranges from 124.8° in Freiburg im Breisgau to 136.7° in Berlin, a spread of 11.9°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Germany.

Qibla in cities near Nuremberg

• Erlangen130.6° · 16 km
• Ingolstadt130.3° · 81 km
• Regensburg131.5° · 89 km
• Würzburg129.4° · 89 km
• Augsburg129.1° · 121 km
• Heilbronn127.8° · 139 km