Qibla direction in Trondheim

How to face the Qibla in Trondheim

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 39.2° towards east: the result is the bearing of 140.8°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “south” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Trondheim.

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 Trondheim, 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 Trondheim to Mecca points to 154.2° (south-east), 13.3° away from the correct 140.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 28 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 140.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Trondheim (63.4305° N, 10.3951° 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 Trondheim to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 5,162 km from Trondheim as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,833 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 34 min, although most pilgrims from Trondheim connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Trondheim 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 Trondheim rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Trondheim

On 283 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Trondheim 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 1 February 2027 it happens at 09:47 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Trondheim 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 Trondheim: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Trondheim compared with other cities

Compared with Oslo, 392 km away, the Qibla in Trondheim is turned 1.8° further clockwise (140.8° against 139.0°), and Mecca is 311 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Oslo (392 km), prays towards 139.0°, a difference of 1.8°.

Among the 6 cities in Norway on this site, Trondheim has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 132.2° in Stavanger. Across the country the direction varies by 8.7°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Norway.

Qibla in cities near Trondheim

• Oslo139.0° · 392 km
• Drammen138.2° · 410 km
• Bergen132.7° · 429 km
• Stavanger132.2° · 555 km
• Kristiansand134.3° · 602 km