COMMEMORATION services for the centenary of the First World War will get underway today as the world remembers the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event which triggered the conflict. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, but while on a tour of Sarajevo (capital of modern day Bosnia Herzegovina) he and his wife Sophie were shot dead by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. The event triggered a diplomatic crisis and exactly a month later Austo-Hungary declared war on Serbia. A domino effect ensued which saw the other major powers in Europe declare war on each other in quick succession. Austrians and Bosnians will mark the centenary today in separate ceremonies in Sarajevo and Vienna. European leaders will join the commemorations to remember an assassination which had a seismic effect on the following century. The death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand remains one of the key turning points in human history.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 16:25:44 +0000
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