# Were Gavrilo Princip and Adolf Hitler born in the same region? How far apart were their hometowns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586 "2014-09-26T01:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/1 "2014-09-26T01:51:27Z")
Hi, I would like to fact-check the following information. I’d like to know how close Princips and Hitler’s places of birth were to each other\> I look forward to your feedback. davidmich [http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/7-things-you-didnt-knowThe-man-who-started-WWI---264999751.html](http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/7-things-you-didnt-knowThe-man-who-started-WWI---264999751.html) Gavrilo Princip was born in a province of Austria-Hungary that had recently been acquired, an area known as Bosnia Herzegovina. For centuries it had been occupied by the Ottoman Empire but in 1878 it was “flipped,” becoming Habsburg territory overnight. Its citizens did not have passports but they did have travel passes, and as a young man Gavrilo Princip qualified for the same type of pass as that given to Adolf Hitler, who was born further to the northwest, but still within the Austro-Hungarian empire. or “Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary (in present day Austria), close to the border with the German Empire.” "A Serb family, the Princips had lived in northwestern Bosnia for many centuries[12] " ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/2 "2014-09-26T02:09:18Z")
According to this link, it is 765 kilometers:[Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bosansko+Grahovo,+Bosnia+and+Herzegovina/Braunau+am+Inn,+Austria/@46.2337272,12.459084,7z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x47606a5ac9fde453:0x6bb0e35b4817121f!2m2!1d16.362569!2d44.1790899!1m5!1m1!1s0x4774349a704bc057:0x294e0e673cbc4ecb!2m2!1d13.04432!2d48.25573!3e0) That’s 475 miles for us Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/3 "2014-09-26T02:46:52Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Vashbul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/4 "2014-09-26T08:59:16Z")
In spite of his handicap, Gavrilo Princip managed to stay out of trouble. That’s why I never heard of him. Edit: I just Googled him. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/5 "2014-09-26T10:27:16Z")
> **[distance Bosansko Grahovo,Bosnia to Braunau,Austria - Wolfram|Alpha](https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=distance%2BBosansko%2BGrahovo%2CBosnia%2Bto%2BBraunau%2CAustria)** > > Wolfram|Alpha brings expert-level knowledge and capabilities to the broadest possible range of people—spanning all professions and education levels. Both Princip and Hitler weren’t very fond of Austria. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/6 "2014-09-26T16:55:01Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > [distance Bosansko Grahovo,Bosnia to Braunau,Austria - Wolfram|Alpha](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=distance+Bosansko+Grahovo%2CBosnia+to+Braunau%2CAustria) > > Both Princip and Hitler weren’t very fond of Austria. Well, other than the producers of Sound of Music revivals, who is? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/7 "2014-09-26T17:52:31Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Well, other than the producers of Sound of Music revivals, who is? Napoleon must have liked Austria. He was always going there. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/8 "2014-09-26T20:03:32Z")
Ahnuld likes it plenty. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/9 "2014-09-26T21:30:23Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Ahnuld likes it plenty. But he chooses to live in kah-lee-FORN-ya. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-gavrilo-princip-and-adolf-hitler-born-in-the-same-region-how-far-apart-were-their-hometowns/699586/10 "2014-09-26T22:54:52Z")
> [@Vashbul](#): > > In spite of his handicap, Gavrilo Princip managed to stay out of trouble. That’s why I never heard of him. > > Edit: I just Googled him. Oops. You owe me a new keyboard. Oops.