More than a century after the assassination that helped spark the First World War Sarajevo has approved plans to reinstall a monument to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie at the spot where the visiting royal couple were shot dead.
The decision comes after years of delays because pieces of the original monument ended up scattered in other parts of the country and their current holders refused to return them without financial compensation, according to officials in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the council adopted the measure on 26th February.
The initiative, proposed by councillors from the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH), calls for the monument to be placed beside the Latin Bridge at the exact location where Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie were killed by gunshot wounds during their motorcade through Sarajevo on 28th June, 1914.
The shooting was carried out by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip and became one of the key events that triggered the outbreak of the First World War.
A monument dedicated to the couple was originally erected at the site in June 1917 to mark the third anniversary of the killings.
Designed by Hungarian architect and sculptor Eugen Bory, the structure consisted of two large stone pillars about ten metres (33 feet) high connected by a stylised arch, decorated with bronze medallions bearing relief portraits of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie and a Latin dedication.
However, the monument was dismantled in early 1919 following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
According to information presented with the initiative, parts of the original structure still exist but remain scattered.
One section is currently displayed at the Museum of Sarajevo, while two other parts are believed to be located in Trebinje and in the Kobilja Glava area.
Individuals who possess those fragments have previously indicated they would only hand them over in exchange for financial compensation.
If the remaining original pieces cannot be obtained, the proposal states that Sarajevo should create replicas using archival records, historical photographs and expert guidance so the monument can be reconstructed at the historic site.
Councillors said the assassination was not only a major historical turning point but also the killing of a visiting married couple.
They noted that Sarajevo currently contains memorials and symbolic references connected to the assassin Gavrilo Princip but does not have a monument dedicated to the victims.
