Some of the biggest history was made when the young Serbian nationalist opened fire on Archduke Franz Ferdinand's open limousine. His death plunged the world into one of the century's deadliest wars and, some argue, a century of bloodshed and misery.

On June 28, 1914, the archduke arrived in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo for a routine royal visit. It was his and his wife's wedding anniversary, but they were fulfilling their duty since Ferdinand was to inherit the throne of Austria-Hungary, the now nonexistent empire used to control Bosnia. Nearby Serbia, however, wanted the region to be part of itself, and many Bosnians did not identify with Catholic Vienna.

Gavrilo Princip, a young radical, along with five accomplices conspired to assassinate the archduke, who personified to them the Habsburg occupation of their homeland. As the motorcade made its way through Sarajevo's streets, Princip and his accomplices first tried to throw a grenade at the car, which failed; however, the driver made a wrong turn, leading them toward Princip. Princip then jumped in front of the car and opened fire on the archduke and his pregnant wife.

According to historian Tim Butcher, this is the only part of the story that appears to be confirmed. Information on Princip has been scarce and that, even at the time of the assassination, caused problems. No one knew his exact birth date, which kept him far enough from the scaffold and ultimately led to his prison sentence. Vienna could not even link him to Serbia. However, the archduke's death triggered the activation of allegiances.

Since then, Princip's memory has been used by every ruler of Bosnia and Serbia as a means to legitimatize their rule or to erase history. (Though, the Nazi's were only culpable of the latter after they removed the Princip's commemorative plaque, according to NPR's Ari Shapiro.)

Now, in the centennial of Franz Ferdinand's assassination, Serbians and Bosnian Serbs remember the man -- though differently.

Many Serbians have decided to boycott the official ceremony in Sarajevo. They argue that the ceremony intends to link the beginning of World War I to the disintegration of Yugoslavia and, as a result, lay the blame at the Serbians' feet, The Guardian reported.

Serbian leaders re-enacted the assassination in a near by village in protest of the ceremony. In spite of the dissenters, Sarajevo officials unveiled a statue of Princip in a park on Friday before the ceremony began. As part of the ceremony, the Vienna Philharmonic will play music by German and Austrian composers at the City Hall that has been recently restored. The Sarajevo City Hall was the archduke's last stop before his death.

"This is a symbolic concert in a symbolic location," Professor Clemens Hellsberg, the orchestra's president and first violin, said. "We want to provide a vision of a common future in peace."

The participation of the various nationalities is supposed to symbolize peace and reconciliation. Though, it has not been taken as that by some, and his memory is still continues to be controversial since different people remember him differently.

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