…Bridge Where WWI Sparked…
Latin Bridge is a historical landmark spanning the Miljacka River in the heart of Sarajevo. This bridge is best known for its association with one of history’s most pivotal events: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary on June 28, 1914.
This tragic event, carried out just a few steps from the bridge by Gavrilo Princip, became the spark that ignited World War I, forever linking Latin Bridge to a defining moment in modern history.
The bridge’s origins, however, reach far deeper into the past. The first recorded mention of a bridge in this location appears in an Ottoman register from 1541, which notes that a man named Husein, the son of Širmed, built a wooden bridge here. Shortly after, Sarajevo’s influential figure, Ali Ajni-Beg, commissioned a stone bridge to replace the wooden one. This stone bridge endured until a major flood swept it away in 1791.
In 1798, the bridge was rebuilt in its current form, funded by the charitable donation of Abdulah Briga, a respected Sarajevo merchant. This bridge, with its characteristic Ottoman architectural style and graceful stone arches, has since become a lasting icon of Sarajevo.
Its name, Latin Bridge, derives from the Latinluk neighborhood on the left bank of the Miljacka River, which was traditionally home to Sarajevo’s Catholic community.
During the period from 1918 to 1993, the bridge was known as Princip’s Bridge, a name honoring Gavrilo Princip, who carried out the assassination.
Nearby, you’ll find the Museum of Sarajevo 1878–1918, located at the very spot where the assassination took place. This museum offers visitors a rich look into Sarajevo’s past during the Austro-Hungarian rule and provides historical context for the dramatic events that unfolded at the bridge.
