Sarajevo is known as Jerusalem of Europe, as it has always been a melting pot of cultures. Until the late 20th century it was the only major European city with a mosque, a Catholic church, an Orthodox church and a synagogue within the same neighborhood.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie of Hohenberg were killed on the 28th June 1914 in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of Mlada Bosna. Although Franz Ferdinand was not very popular, the Austro-Hungarian government used the assassination as reason for an intervention in the Kingdom of Serbia. After the Austro-Hungarian Empire got support ensured by the German Empire, they gave the Kingdom of Serbia an unacceptable ultimatum. Meanwhile the Kingdom of Serbia got support ensured by its protecting power, the Russian Empire. Because of the abandonment of some of the points in the ultimatum the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia on the 28th July 1914 and due to the European alliances this led to the beginning of World War I after a few days.
In 1984 the city hosted the Olympic Winter Games.
During the Bosnian War Sarajevo suffered the longest siege of a city in the history of modern warfare. Between 1992 and 1996 the city was besieged by the Army of Republika Srpska, whose strategic goal was to create a new Bosnian Serb state. The city was assaulted with artillery, tanks and small arms and the Bosnian government defence forces in Sarajevo were poorly equipped and unable to break the siege. Nearly 14000 people were killed during the siege.
Sarajevo is today the capital of the independent Bosnia and Herzegovina and seeks for the inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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