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Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Este
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Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Este

Austrian archduke
Alternate titles: Franz Ferdinand, Erzherzog von Österreich-Este

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie

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Born:
December 18, 1863 •
Graz •
Austria
 Died:
June 28, 1914 (aged 50) •
Sarajevo •
Bosnia and Herzegovina

House / Dynasty:
House of Habsburg

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Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Este, German Franz Ferdinand,

Erzherzog von Österreich-Este, also called Francis Ferdinand, (born December
18, 1863, Graz, Austria—died June 28, 1914, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-
Hungary [now in Bosnia and Herzogovina]), Austrian archduke whose assassination
(1914) was the immediate cause of World War I.

Life until 1914

Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of the archduke Charles Louis, who was the brother
of the emperor Franz Joseph. The death of the heir apparent, Archduke Rudolf, in 1889
made Franz Ferdinand next in succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne after his
father, who died in 1896. But because of Franz Ferdinand’s ill health in the 1890s, his
younger brother Otto was regarded as more likely to succeed, a possibility that deeply
embittered Franz Ferdinand. His desire to marry Sophie, countess of Chotek, a lady-in-
waiting, brought him into sharp conflict with the emperor and the court. Only after
renouncing his future children’s rights to the throne was the morganatic marriage
allowed in 1900.

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 Austria-Hungary, 1914
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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In foreign affairs he tried to restore Austro-Russian understanding without

endangering the alliance with Germany. At home he thought of political reforms that
would have strengthened the position of the crown and weakened that of the Magyars
against the other nationalities in Hungary. His plans were based on the realization that
any nationalistic policy pursued by one section of the population would endanger the
multinational Habsburg empire. His relationship with Franz Joseph was exacerbated by
his continuous pressure on the emperor, who in his later years left affairs to take care of
themselves but sharply resented any interference with his prerogative. From 1906
onward Franz Ferdinand’s influence in military matters grew, and in 1913 he became
inspector general of the army.
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Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand.
Image: George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ggbain-07650)

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

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Witness the beginning of World War I with the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand on June 28, 1914
Overview of the start of World War I, including details of the June 28, 1914, assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand.
Image: Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz

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On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand was in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia
and Herzegovina accompanied by his wife, Sophie. He was there as inspector general of
the imperial army. The visit was not a popular one. Balkan politics were turbulent, and
the neighbouring Kingdom of Serbia coveted Bosnia. Moreover, the date chosen for this
imperial visit and Hapsburg show of force was June 28, a black date in Serbian history:
it was the anniversary of the Turkish victory over Serbia at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.
This fanned the flames of dissent among Serbian nationalists even further.

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View historical footage and photographs surrounding Gavrilo Princip's assassination of

Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: historical footage and photographs.
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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The royal couple was travelling in a motorcade through Sarajevo in an open-topped car,
ignorant of the fact that several would-be assassins awaited along the route of their
preannounced stops. Shortly after 10 AM, amid cheering crowds lining the wide avenue
called Appel Quay, one of the attackers, Nedjelko Cabrinovic, threw a grenade at the
royal couple’s car. The bomb bounced off the back of the vehicle and exploded behind
them, injuring members of the entourage who were in the next car and peppering
bystanders with shrapnel.
bystanders with shrapnel.

After completing the planned reception at City Hall, the shaken royal couple insisted on
changing their schedule and visiting the hospital to check on one of the officers injured
in the morning attack. Confusion among the drivers in the motorcade followed, with the
drivers starting off in the wrong direction, down the very avenue where the conspirators
were still present. When the royal motorcade entered a side street and stopped to turn
around, a compatriot of Cabrinovic, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, seized his opportunity.
Approaching the royal couple’s open car, he shot both Franz Ferdinand and Sophie with
a Browning pistol. The driver of the couple’s car then sped off for medical help. Sophie
died en route and Franz Ferdinand died shortly after. Princip tried to shoot himself but
was apprehended by bystanders. All of the conspirators were eventually found and
arrested. Exempted from the death penalty because of his young age, Princip was
sentenced to 20 years in prison, where he died from tuberculosis in 1918.

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Franz Ferdinand
Soldiers arresting Gavrilo Princip after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, June 1914.
Image: © Photos.com/Thinkstock

Anti-Serb protests and riots followed throughout Austria-Hungary in the wake of the
assassination. One month later, on July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on the
country seemingly behind the murders, Serbia. This set the Triple Alliance (Austria-
Hungary, Germany, and Italy) against Serbia’s allies in the Triple Entente (Russia,
Hungary, Germany, and Italy) against Serbia s allies in the Triple Entente (Russia,
France, and Britain). Momentum became unstoppable, sparking one of the deadliest
conflicts in history—World War I.

Fid Backhouse and others

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica