Qibla · Stockholm County
Qibla direction in Stockholm
To face the Kaaba in Stockholm, turn to 148.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (31.8° east of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,554 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Stockholm should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 148.2°, the Qibla of Stockholm. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 148° 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 Stockholm
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 31.8° towards east: the result is the bearing of 148.2°. 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 Stockholm.
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 Stockholm, 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 Stockholm to Mecca points to 157.4° (south-east), 9.1° away from the correct 148.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 12 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 148.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Stockholm (59.3294° N, 18.0687° 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 Stockholm to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,554 km from Stockholm as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,225 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 51 min, although most pilgrims from Stockholm connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Stockholm 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 Stockholm rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Stockholm
On 334 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Stockholm 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 09:40 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Stockholm 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 | 09:40 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 09:49 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 09:55 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:59 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 10:02 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 11:05 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 11:07 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:10 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:14 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:19 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:24 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:23 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:16 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 11:05 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:54 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:42 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 10:32 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 09:23 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 09:19 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 09:19 | — |
| 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 Stockholm: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Stockholm compared with other cities
The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Uppsala (64 km), prays towards 148.0°, a difference of 0.3°.
Across the 10 cities in Sweden on this site, the Qibla ranges from 138.7° in Helsingborg to 153.5° in Umeå, 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 Sweden.
Qibla in cities near Stockholm
Qibla in Stockholm: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Stockholm?
It is 148.2° from true north, which is south-east: 31.8° east of south.
How far is Stockholm from Mecca?
4,554 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,225 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Stockholm?
On 334 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 Stockholm not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 157.4°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Stockholm at 148.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 148.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.