ASSASSINATION OF KING ALEKSANDAR OBRENOVIĆ

The assassination of King Aleksandar Obrenović and Queen Draga took place on the night of 29 May (11 June, New Style) 1903 at the Old Konak. A group of conspirators, led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis, entered the building and killed the royal couple.

Their bodies were thrown from an upper floor, and they were buried the following night without ceremony or state honors. During the same night, members of the government, the queen’s brothers, and other figures associated with the Obrenović dynasty were also killed.

Portret kralja Aleksandra Obrenovića u Narodnom domu

As the royal couple had no heirs, the assassination marked the end of the Obrenović dynasty. Petar Karađorđević ascended to the throne.

During the Austro-Hungarian occupation in 1917, a monument to King Aleksandar and Queen Draga was erected, but it was soon removed. Their remains are now kept in the crypt of St Mark’s Church.

Grobnica Aleksandra Obrenovića i Drage Mašin

The building of the Old Konak, where the assassination took place, was demolished one year after the event. It stood on the site of today’s park between the Old and New Palace.

The Old Konak was built around 1840 as a family residence by statesman Stojan Simić. In 1845, Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević declared the building his residence, and it retained this function during the rule of the Obrenović dynasty.

Today, there is no monument at this location dedicated to the murdered royal couple, making it an example of a site where material traces of the event were removed and memory remains without a clear marker.