Franz Ferdinand of Habsburg

I am Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Habsburg-Este, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I was born in Graz and lived in the family castles between Bohemia and Upper Austria. I was assassinated in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, with my beloved wife, Sophia. I have fond bonds with Gorizia, where I also spent a youthful period with my mother, who hoped the city's mild climate would restore her health. I returned there several times. The one I remember most is the stop I made during the inaugural journey of the Transalpine Railway on July 19, 1906. I lingered, welcomed enthusiastically, longer than the ceremony required. Trieste, the terminus, could well have waited for the Archduke to admire the marvels of Austrian engineering reflected in the azure waters of the Isonzo and bid farewell to beautiful Gorizia!