Latin Bridge

The Latin Bridge, Latinska ćuprija, crosses the Miljacka River on Obala Kulina bana in central Sarajevo, within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bridges stood on this spot from the early Ottoman period, and the present stone structure dates to 1799, when it was rebuilt by Hadži Mustafa-aga after earlier flood damage. It takes its name from the Latin, or Catholic, quarter on its right bank, in contrast to the Ottoman Muslim districts across the river. The bridge is a modest, graceful stone arch bridge with low parapets that has carried foot traffic between the old Baščaršija quarter and the Austro-Hungarian-era city for more than two centuries. Its fame stems from the events of 28 June 1914, when the nineteen-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Young Bosnia movement, fatally shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie from the pavement at the northern end of the bridge. The assassination triggered the diplomatic crisis that led to the First World War. A small museum at the corner, formerly a Princip memorial, is now run as the Sarajevo 1878-1918 exhibition by the Museum of Sarajevo, with photographs, documents and period objects describing the Austro-Hungarian administration and the assassination. A plaque on the bridge's end marks the site. The bridge was renamed Princip Bridge during the Yugoslav era, and regained its original name in 1992. It sustained damage during the siege of Sarajevo and has since been repaired. Today the structure functions both as a pedestrian crossing and as a meeting point on the Sarajevo walking route that also includes the City Hall, Baščaršija and the Sebilj fountain.