Qibla · Trentino-Alto Adige
Qibla direction in Bolzano
To face the Kaaba in Bolzano, turn to 127.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (37.6° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,790 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Bolzano should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 127.6°, the Qibla of Bolzano. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 128° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Bolzano
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 37.6° towards south: the result is the bearing of 127.6°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Bolzano.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Bolzano, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Bolzano to Mecca points to 137.1° (south-east), 9.5° away from the correct 127.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 13 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.
How is the figure of 127.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Bolzano (46.4907° N, 11.3398° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Bolzano to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,790 km from Bolzano as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,507 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Bolzano connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Bolzano 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 Bolzano rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bolzano
On 323 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bolzano 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 08:32 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Bolzano during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 08:32 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 08:49 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 09:02 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:14 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:25 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:37 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:47 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:59 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:09 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:20 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:30 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:17 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:04 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:43 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:25 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:03 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:45 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 08:27 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 08:16 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Bolzano: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Bolzano compared with other cities
Compared with Rome, 520 km away, the Qibla in Bolzano is turned 4.3° further clockwise (127.6° against 123.3°), and Mecca is 373 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Trento (50 km), prays towards 126.8°, a difference of 0.8°.
Across the 42 cities in Italy on this site, the Qibla ranges from 115.2° in Cagliari to 130.0° in Trieste, a spread of 14.8°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Italy.
Qibla in cities near Bolzano
Qibla in Bolzano: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Bolzano?
It is 127.6° from true north, which is south-east: 37.6° south of east.
How far is Bolzano from Mecca?
3,790 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,507 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Bolzano?
On 323 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Bolzano not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 137.1°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Bolzano at 127.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 127.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.