On the front, the banknotes show windows and gateways. They symbolise the European spirit of openness and cooperation. The twelve stars of the European Union represent the dynamism and harmony of contemporary Europe.
The bridges on the back symbolise communication between the people of Europe and between Europe and the rest of the world.
The euro banknotes were designed by Mr. Robert Kalina of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank.
- The euro banknote series comprises seven different values (denominations).
- The banknotes are uniformly designed throughout Europe.
- Every banknote denomination is different in colour and size.
- The 5 EUR banknote is the lowest and the 500 EUR banknote is the highest denomination.
Additional design elements are:
- the name of the currency – euro in both the Latin (EURO) and the Greek (EYPO) alphabets;
- the initials of the European Central Bank in five linguistic variants - BCE, ECB, EZB, EKT, EKP –, covering the then 11 official languages of the European Union;
- the symbol © indicating copyright protection; and
- the flag of the European Union.
