At a glance
- Bern, the capital: 123°, east-south-east, 4,061 km from the Kaaba.
- Zurich, the largest city: 125°, south-east, 4,018 km from the Kaaba.
- The Qibla turns by 5° across the country, from 121° in Geneva to 126° in St. Gallen.
- Closest to Makkah: Lugano, 3,907 km. Farthest: Geneva, 4,102 km.
- Around Bern, a magnetic compass points about 3° east of true north (World Magnetic Model 2025, for 2026). On a needle compass, the Qibla there is about 120°.
Qibla from every city in Switzerland
Cities of 50,000 people or more, largest first.
| City | Qibla | Direction | Distance to the Kaaba (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | 125° | south-east | 4,018 |
| Geneva | 121° | east-south-east | 4,102 |
| Basel | 124° | south-east | 4,091 |
| Lausanne | 122° | east-south-east | 4,088 |
| Bern | 123° | east-south-east | 4,061 |
| Winterthur | 125° | south-east | 4,017 |
| Lucerne | 124° | south-east | 4,014 |
| St. Gallen | 126° | south-east | 3,972 |
| Lugano | 124° | south-east | 3,907 |
| Biel/Bienne | 123° | east-south-east | 4,086 |
Not on the list? Search any town or use your location on the live compass.
Reading these numbers
Each bearing is measured clockwise from true north along the shortest path over the globe, a great circle, which is how the Qibla is worked out. A flat map can mislead, because the Earth is round.
Phone compasses work best after calibrating with a figure-8, away from metal and magnetic cases. Our guide to finding the Qibla also covers the sun, the local mosque and praying when unsure.
Qibla in other countries
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City data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Magnetic declination: the World Magnetic Model 2025 (NOAA and the British Geological Survey).