Assassination at Sarajevo

From 1878 Bosnia and Herzegovina was under the Austr-Hungarian rule. A revolutionary youth organisation Young Bosnia (Mlada Bosna) fought for Bosnia to be included in the Serbian state. In order to provoke Serbia and scare the rebellious Serbs of Bosnia, on Vidovdan 1914, a great Serbian holiday, Austria scheduled military manoeuvres nearby Sarajevo, which were to be monitored by the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Members of the Young Bosnia assassinated the Archduke. First, a bomb was thrown at his car, while moving towards the centre of Sarajevo, but the bomb bounced towards the next car in the motorcade. Then a member of the Young Bosnia, Gavrilo Princip, took a pistol and wounded Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. But they both died of the inflicted wounds on their way to hospital.

ART

The Assassination at Sarajevo has been the subject of numerous films.

HISTORY

Although the Serbian government was not implicated in the assassination, Austro-Hungary declared war to Serbia. The Assassination at Sarajevo is considered to be a trigger for the First World War to break out.

OUTSTANDING FIGURES

Gavrilo Princip