Euro banknotes euro banknotes are supposedly more durable than the first series banknotes. Reinhold Gerstetter, an independent banknote designer, was chosen by the European Central Bank to redesign the euro notes. Due to the great number of historic bridges, arches, and gateways throughout the European continent, all the structures represented on the notes are entirely stylised illustrations of the relevant architectural styles, designed to evoke the landmarks within the European Union, representing various European ages and styles. For example, the 5 euro note has a generic rendition of Classical architecture, the 10 euro note of Romanesque architecture, the 20 euro note of
Euro banknotes a design competition, launched by the Council of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) on 12 February 1996. The winning entry, created by Robert Kalina from the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, was selected on 3 December 1996. The euro banknotes are pure cotton fibre, which improves their durability as well as giving the banknotes a distinctive feel. In the first series, the Azores, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Madeira, Martinique, Réunion, and the Canary Islands, overseas territories of the eurozone member states, which also use the euro, are shown under the map in separate boxes. Cyprus and Malta were not shown on the first series