I can’t think of a better way to honor the 98th anniversary of the place where World War I got started (besides listening to a Franz Ferdinand song of course) then with a visit to the Museum of Sarajevo 1878-1918 (or as I like to call it the Museum of the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand) in Bosnia. Most historians agree that when the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was killed it triggered a chain of events that led to the Great War, besides the fact that there had been open hostilities and diplomatic clashes among the great powers of Europe for decades, plus the rise of militarism, imperialism, nationalism, etc. But that Franz dude was important, yo. Can you tell I briefly taught history and really like military shit?
Anyway, the building on the street corner overlooking Latin Bridge, next to where the assassin Gavrilo Princip was standing when he fired the fatal shots, was turned into a museum dedicated to the archduke’s death and the Austrian-Hungarian rule of Sarajevo. It wasn’t always like this as the original memorial plaque marking the spot was removed by the Nazis during WWII and later during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. But local perception has changed, the museum (and plaque) were reinstated and now Franz and his wife Sophie (who was also killed) are memorialized as creepy statues. Cool, huh?
