What was the number plate on the Duke Franz Ferdinand car?
The lead car in Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s Sarajevo visit carried the Austro-Hungarian registration "A 1111." This plate is the most frequently cited identifier in histories and museum records about the event.
Context: the car and the historic ride
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were touring Sarajevo in a two-car motorcade when an assassination changed the course of history. The lead vehicle was a Gräf & Stift open touring car, a prestige model of the era. The registration on that car has become a small but enduring detail in the story of the day.
Registration details and evidence
The plate on the lead car is widely reported as "A 1111" within the pre-war Austrian-Hungarian plate system. The "A" prefix denoted Austria and reflected the era’s registration conventions, which were less standardized than modern systems.
Key points about the plate, as cited by historians and museum references:
- The commonly cited plate for the Archduke’s lead car is "A 1111."
- The "A" prefix was part of the Austro-Hungarian registration scheme, with numbers assigned within a regional framework that differed from today’s formats.
- Some sources and photographs from the period or later reproductions have, at times, suggested alternative numbers or mislabeling, but "A 1111" remains the best-supported reference among major histories and museum labels.
Concluding from the available evidence, the number plate most often identified with the lead car in Sarajevo was "A 1111." That designation has become the standard reference in retellings of the event, even as archival records from the period can be hard to verify conclusively.
Why this detail matters
License plates from the Austro-Hungarian era offer a glimpse into how early motorists were registered and tracked, and they remind historians that small logistical details can become enduring symbols in a larger historical narrative. The plate "A 1111" has become a touchstone for researchers when describing the car that carried Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife to their fateful day in Sarajevo.
Summary
The lead car in the Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination is most commonly associated with the license plate "A 1111," a designation from the Austro-Hungarian pre-war registration system. While there is some variation in sources and records, this plate has become the standard reference in histories and museum descriptions of the event.
