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Published: November 18th 2013
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The tensions of the recent past in Sarajevo and the Balkans War are hard to miss. The graveyards with the 11,000 + victims of the siege are laid out across the hillsides of the valley. The majority focus is on them. However, tensions in the city are nothing new and one particular grave tends to go un-noticed. In a corner of the graveyard within the shadow of the Olympic Stadium lies the memorial to Gavrilo Princip, the Serb nationalist, whose assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia led to the events that precipitated the First World War.
Princip was not hanged due to his age and died of TB in custody after 4 years. The bodies of Princip and the fellow plotters were repatriated to Sarajevo. There was nobody else around and there seemed little interest in the tomb of the men that led many others to 4 years of misery, suffering and death. The Man in the Middle thought it odd that the memorial had been built in the first place.
The scene of the assassination was on the corner by the Latin Bridge. A non-descript plaque on the wall marks the spot. Frannz
Ferdinand had alighted from his train at Ilidaz and set off in a motorcade to tour Sarajevo. The loyal population of the Austro-Hungarian empire lined the streets and among them were the conspirators. As the column of vehicles proceeded along the river, one of Princip’s colleagues threw a bomb at the Archduke’s car. It failed to explode and he allegedly threw it out of the vehicle, killing other members of his entourage in vehicles behind him. The show must go on, so the route was amended on the return journey. Princip, who was making his escape, saw his opportunity and shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife from close range as the car turned by the Latin Bridge.
The building on the corner is now a small museum (3 BM). The exhibits included tea cups that Franz Ferdinand had drunk from at a reception, articles of clothing worn by the assassin and the alleged weapons. There was one other couple inside – an English couple. It was strange that a place of such significance appeared to draw no interest.
We proceeded onwards to the Old Town. A group played chess with one of those giant outdoor sets common in
Eastern European parks. The two foes battled it out and increased the profits of the cigarette factory, as they studied their options. The game was played in the shadows of the Cathedral. A mosque is just around the corner. The synagogue is also nearby. Sarajevo is a real melting pot.
The former main shopping street appears to be struggling a bit now. The glass towers that contain various office blocks all seem to have a development for retail on the bottom couple of floors. The brands are all familiar – a combination of the major European and US brands. The prices are familiar too, if not higher than home, so somebody is clearly doing alright in the new Bosnia. As avid collectors of pin badges, we though the FK Sarajevo fan shop was worth a look. The janitor guy directed upwards to the retail arm of the club on the first floor. The stairs were lined by old black and white photos of the great moments and team groups that had done FK Sarajevo proud since their formation in 1946. The shop was the usual collection of merchandise, but unlike many did contain small badges. The guy in the
shop proudly displayed the item, after retrieving it from a locked cabinet. It is 24 BM!! How much?? Yes, these are made of silver! We enquired about a cheaper product, but none was to be had. In order to put the price into perspective, this is the club that will sell you a season ticket for 40 BM – even a top price VIP season ticket costs only 200 BM. It is doubtful they sell many badges.
The Old Town is beyond the former main shopping street. A maze of narrow streets, that appear completely untouched by events that damaged so many other buildings. Perhaps they have been rebuilt or repaired. The businesses were a mix of cafes and souvenir shops selling stuff you can live without! Groups sat around drinking strong expresso coffee. The fake football shirts centred on Manchester City's Number 1 reserve striker and a Stoke goalie, with a sprinkling of Bosnia on the way to Brazil t-shirts. The guy making the real money was dispensing pigeon food to a series of punters with more money than sense. The rats with wings were clearly the best fed in the Balkans. The Man in the Middle was
generally more impressed with the Old Town than I. A short distance away a market was in full swing, as was the renovation of the old Town Hall building. It glistened in the sun, as a coat of EU money was liberally sprinkled over it's exterior.
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