Qibla · Vinnytsia Oblast
Qibla direction in Vinnytsia
To face the Kaaba in Vinnytsia, turn to 158.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is south (22.0° east of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,251 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Vinnytsia should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 158.0°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 158°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Vinnytsia
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 22.0° towards east: the result is the bearing of 158.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 22° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Vinnytsia to Mecca points to 161.9° (south), 4.0° away from the correct 158.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 2 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 49.2322° N, 28.4687° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Vinnytsia to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,251 km from Vinnytsia as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,919 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 19 min, although most pilgrims from Vinnytsia connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Vinnytsia run 1 hour behind Mecca in winter and the same time as 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 Vinnytsia rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Vinnytsia
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Vinnytsia while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 10:37 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Vinnytsia 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 | 10:37 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 10:45 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 10:54 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 10:59 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 11:03 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 11:05 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:06 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:08 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:11 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:14 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:19 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:23 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:23 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:17 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:06 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 11:56 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:45 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 11:35 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 10:27 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 10:23 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 10:24 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 10:28 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Vinnytsia: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Vinnytsia compared with other cities
Compared with Kyiv, 200 km away, the Qibla in Vinnytsia is turned 4.5° further anticlockwise (158.0° against 162.5°), and Mecca is 78 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Khmelnytskyi (110 km), prays towards 155.4°, a difference of 2.6°.
Across the 40 cities in Ukraine on this site, the Qibla ranges from 146.6° in Uzhhorod to 178.9° in Luhansk, a spread of 32.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Ukraine.
Qibla in cities near Vinnytsia
- Khmelnytskyi155.4° · 110 km
- Zhytomyr159.0° · 116 km
- Bila Tserkva161.3° · 135 km
- Kyiv162.5° · 200 km
- Ternopil153.0° · 211 km
- Chernivtsi152.6° · 213 km
Qibla in Vinnytsia: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Vinnytsia?
It is 158.0° from true north, which is south: 22.0° east of south.
How far is Vinnytsia from Mecca?
3,251 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,919 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Vinnytsia?
On 365 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 Vinnytsia not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 161.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Vinnytsia at 158.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 158.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.
