The corner of Obala Kulina bana and Zelenih beretki, facing the Ottoman-era Latin Bridge in Sarajevo may seem insignificant at first glance. If it were not for a plaque and the imprint of two feet on a concrete slab. On 28 June, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir-presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie were shot dead by Gavrilo Princip from this very spot in a premeditated assassination plan. Gavrilo was a 19-year-old Serbian nationalist belonging to the Young Bosnia movement.

This was not the first time a ruler was killed by an angry member of the populace he reigned over. History is full of such bloodbaths. It was what happened afterwards that mattered here.

Immediately, the Western world split into two factions over this incident. Differences in ideology already existed. The assassination became a valid point to fight over. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On one side were France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia [and later Japan and the USA], and on the other Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire.

And thus, the stage was set for World War I on 28 July, 1914, which lasted for four years three months and 14 days, killed between 15 to 22 million people, wounded 21 million people, and ended with the fall of four empires, including that of Austria-Hungary.

Sarajevo is full of stories. Mostly poignant, often macabre, always world-changing. Welcome to my Bosnia and Herzegovina series. ❤️