World War I: The Assassination Of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Archduke Franz Ferdinand with his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg, and their three children, Princess Sophie, Maximilian, the Duke of Hohenberg, and Prince Ernst von Hohenberg in 1910. On June 28, the archduke was supposed to inspect Austro-Hungarian troops in Sarajevo with his wife. It was their wedding anniversary.

The royal couple arrived in Sarajevo by train and, according to the original plot, the archduke was supposed to be killed in his car while driving on the road into the city. Franz Ferdinand and his wife are seen approaching their car shortly before the assassination.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand greeted officials in Sarajevo shortly before he and his wife were shot dead in their car. 

Franz Ferdinand escaped unhurt from a first assassination attempt on June 28, 1914 when an assassin threw a grenade at his car. Others were injured and the archduke insisted on visiting them at a hospital. His car stalled on the way. Another assassin who happened to be nearby shot and killed the royal couple.

Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie with two shots from a Browning semiautomatic handgun. He was one of six pan-Yugoslav revolutionaries who lined the royal couple's route and were intent on killing them.

Weapons used by the conspirators during the assassination are displayed at the Museum of Military History (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum) in Vienna.

The cavalry general's uniform worn by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at the time of his assassination. It is shown on display at the Museum of Military History in Vienna.

The blood-stained undershirt worn by Archduke Franz Ferdinand on the day he was killed.

The aftermath of anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo on June 29, 1914. Austria-Hungary believed Serbian officials were involved in the assassination plot and declared war on Serbia on July 28. That triggered a series of reactions by other nations that led to World War I.

The front page of the newspaper "Excelsior," announcing the assassination.

The trial of the assassination conspirators in Sarajevo, October, 1914. Princip is seated in the center of the first row.

The Sarajevo street where the assassination took place as it appears now.