Qibla direction in Lausanne

How to face the Qibla in Lausanne

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 31.6° towards south: the result is the bearing of 121.6°. 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 Lausanne.

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 Lausanne, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque 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 Lausanne to Mecca points to 132.8° (south-east), 11.2° away from the correct 121.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 19 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 121.6° is the direction in which the shortest route from 46.5160° N, 6.6328° 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 Lausanne to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,088 km from Lausanne as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,816 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 19 min, although most pilgrims from Lausanne connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Lausanne 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 Lausanne rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Lausanne

On 295 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Lausanne 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 08:37 local time.

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

Lausanne compared with other cities

Compared with Bern, 79 km away, the Qibla in Lausanne is turned 1.5° further anticlockwise (121.6° against 123.1°), and Mecca is 27 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Geneva (51 km), prays towards 120.7°, a difference of 0.9°.

Across the 6 cities in Switzerland on this site, the Qibla ranges from 120.7° in Geneva to 125.3° in Winterthur, a spread of 4.7°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Switzerland.

Qibla in cities near Lausanne

• Geneva120.7° · 51 km
• Bern123.1° · 79 km
• Basel124.0° · 136 km
• Zurich125.0° · 174 km
• Winterthur125.3° · 193 km