Sarajevo - Sarajevo assassination
Following the trail of the assassination that changed the world
On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand d'Este, Archduke and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo.
While driving through the streets of the city, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Žofia Chotková were attacked by a group of six assassins. First, the assassins carried out a failed bomb attack and later, at another location, the couple were shot dead by the Serb Gavrilo Princip.
The assassination that started World War I
The assassination in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne sparked an international crisis known as the July Crisis and was the pretext for Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, and is considered one of the causes of World War I.
Failed attempt and visit to the city hall
The Archduke and his wife were first heading to Sarajevo City Hall. On the way, the first assassination attempt took place, when a conspirator threw a car bomb at them. The bomb missed the Archduke's car but injured his entourage.
Latin bridge (Latinska ćuprija)
After visiting the town hall, the shaken Archduke Ferdinand decided to visit the wounded members of his entourage in the hospital. Near the ancient Latin Bridge, which spans the Miljacka River, he had a fateful encounter with the assassin.
The coincidence that fed the assassin
The assassin Gavrilo Princip was in a café when a limousine carrying the Archduke and his passengers appeared in front of him, took a wrong turn and stopped for a moment while reversing. Princip jumped up from the right side of the car and fired two shots from a 9 mm pistol. The first shot hit Ferdinand directly in the carotid artery, the second seriously injured Žofia Chotková in the stomach area.
Memorial plaque and shoe prints
At the site of the attack, opposite the Latin Bridge, on the corner of Zelenih beretki Street and Obala Kulina Bana Embankment, there is a memorial plaque on the house and footprints on the sidewalk, reminding us that it was here that the nineteen-year-old Serbian student Gavrilo Princip fired the fatal shots.
Museum
The building behind the memorial plaque houses the Sarajevo Museum 1878–1918. It displays photographs, documents, and period objects that describe in detail the political situation in Bosnia and the assassination itself.
Start of World War I
The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife shocked all of Europe. The Austrian government took advantage of the situation to deliver an ultimatum. On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On August 3, Germany declared war on France, and on August 4, German troops entered neutral Belgium to gain passage to France. As a result, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Russia. Within a week, France and Great Britain also entered the war against Austria-Hungary.
A small Serbian conflict quickly escalated into a world war.
