Marijan Varešanin from Vareš

Marian Freiherr Varešanin von Vareš around 1907

Marijan Freiherr Varešanin von Vareš (born February 1, 1847 in Gunja , Austrian Empire , † April 22, 1917 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary ) was a Croatian nobleman and general in the Austro-Hungarian army . From 1909 to 1911 he was the governor of Austria-Hungary in Bosnia and Herzegovina .

Life and aftermath

Marian Varešanin was born the son of an officer of the Slavonian Border Infantry Regiment No. 7. After successfully completing the cadet school in Fiume and the military academy in Wiener Neustadt , he entered service as a lieutenant in infantry regiment No. 78 on August 19, 1866. Between 1869 and 1871 he attended the war school in Vienna, which he graduated with excellent results.

On March 7, 1909, he was given command of the 15th  Corps in Sarajevo . Linked to this was general authority over Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina . In addition, on July 29 of the same year he was given the task of General Troop Inspector , which quickly overloaded him, which is why he de facto ceded the 15th Corps to General Moritz Ritter von Auffenberg in October 1909 . Regardless of this, he remained part of the local administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is why he was the target of an assassination attempt by the secret organization Black Hand , which was operating to join Bosnia to Serbia . The Serbian student and assassin Bogdan Žerajić fired five shots from a revolver at Varešanin on June 15, 1910 in Sarajevo, but Varešanin survived. With the sixth and last bullet, the perpetrator shot himself.

Although the assassination attempt on him failed, Varešanin, now 63 years old, began to consider his retirement and therefore applied to be released from active service, which he was approved on May 10, 1911. His successor as governor was General Oskar Potiorek . On July 10, 1911, he officially retired after 45 years of service.

aftermath

Žerajić's assassination attempt on General Varešanin was a great incentive for Gavrilo Princip . He visited Žerajić's grave, swore to avenge him and to “honor” his deed with a similar act and carried out this plan on June 28, 1914, when he met the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in the assassination attempt in Sarajevo shot.

literature

• Husnija Kamberović: Ubojstvo Franza Ferdinanda u Sarajevu 1914. - devedeset godina poslije . In: Prilozi (Contributions) . 34, 2005, pp. 13-22.

Web links

• short biography