The aim of the 'Virtual Museum of the Sarajevo Assassination' project is to launch the process of digitalising the collections of the Museum of the City of Sarajevo, particularly those related to the period of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project is implemented by computer graphics researchers from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Sarajevo, working as the Sarajevo Graphics Group. The first stage of the project includes digitalisation of the Museum building, virtual reconstruction of the memorial to Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, originally located in front of the building, next to the Latin Bridge, and removed in 1919, and selection of exhibits related to the assassination. The digital content includes VRML virtual environments and interactive 3D models of the Museum, the memorial, statues of Ferdinand and Sophie, and the car that drove them on the day of the assassination. The memorial model was created using a combination of laser scanning and 3D modelling. The central exhibition room is a 360-degree panoramic photo taken with a Spheron camera made available by the Visualisation Group, University of Warwick, United Kingdom. A click on individual exhibits opens galleries presenting photos, models and information on places and events. This phase of the project was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Science in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The second phase should include digitalisation of the entire collection of the 1878-1918 collection of the Museum, an animated reconstruction of the assassination itself, as well as introduction of virtual guides and digital content, allowing users to explore it using augmented reality on their mobile devices. Souvenirs are also to be produced, based on prototypes of digitalised exhibits made using 3D printing.

Project team

Selma Rizvić, PhD, ETF Sarajevo, project coordinator
Aida Sadžak, MoE, web design, web application development
Goran Radošević, BScEE, web environment design, monument modelling
Amela Krezić, BoEE, models of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie and their car

Alessandro Artusi, Ph.D., Spheron panoramic photography
Visualisation Group, University of Warwick

Mahir Alijagić, laser scanning
Machine Tool Technology Center MTTC, Gračanica

Dino Selimović, technical coordinator
5D-CADD Sarajevo

Amra Madžarević, project coordinator for the Museum of the City of Sarajevo
Žana Dodig Karaman, Igor Radovanović, project advisors

Diwan Agency Sarajevo, translation