Romania 200 Lei banknote 1992
National Bank of Romania - Banca Națională a României
Obverse: Portrait of Grigore Antipa (1867 - 1944), Romanian biologist; Paddle wheel steamer vessel (steamboat) "Tudor Vladimirescu"; Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea); Sulina Observer Lighthouse.
Reverse: Map of Danube River Delta; Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea); fish; fishing net.
Watermark: Bank monogram "BNR" repeated.
Signatures: Mugur Constantin Isarescu (Governor); Dan Florescu (Cashier).
Original Size: 153 x 77 mm.
Romanian Lei banknotes
1991 "Constantin Brâncuși" Issue
1991-1994 Issue
200 Lei 500 Lei 1000 Lei 5000 Lei 10000 Lei
Grigore Antipa (27 November 1867 in Botoşani – 9 March 1944 in Bucharest) was a Romanian Darwinist biologist who studied the fauna of the Danube Delta and the Black Sea. Between 1892 and 1944 he was the director of the Bucharest Natural History Museum, which now bears his name.
He is also considered to be the first person to modernize the diorama by emphasizing the three-dimensional aspect and first to use dioramas in a museum setting.
Additionally, Antipa was a specialist in zoology, ichthyology, ecology and oceanography, and was a university professor.
He was elected as member of the Romanian Academy in 1910 and was also a member of several foreign academies. He founded a school of hydrobiology and ichthyology in Romania.
Paddle wheel steamer vessel "Tudor Vladimirescu"
Built in Budapest in 1854 as the tug Croatia for the DDSG, the vessel passed into the hands of Romanian Fluvial Navigation (NFR) in 1919. She was rebuilt as a passenger vessel at Turnu Severin Shipyard (now Severnav), receiving the name Sarmisegetusa - the ancient capital of Dacia. She was used for internal passenger services, mostly between Braila and Sulina. In 1923 she was renamed Grigore Manu in honour of a politician heavily involved in the development of Romanian navigation. She received her present name shortly after the Communist Party took power, referring to the leader of the 1821 Revolution against the Ottomans. Tudor Vladimirescu was completely rebuilt at Orsova Shipyard in the late 1950s. The hull, engine and paddles of the paddle steamer are all original. In latter years Tudor Vladimirescu was used on luxury day-cruises for tourists in the Danube Delta; however she was laid-up with minimal maintenance from the early 1990s. From early 2000 to early 2002 Tudor Vladimirescu was in the Galati Damen Shipyard, where she was gutted in preparation for a refit. However funds dried up and the vessel was laid-up at Chiciu once more. Between September 2002 and August 2003 the vessel was rebuilt both in Galati and at the Aker Shipyard in Braila. The vessel is now primarily employed as a protocol ship for local and national government meetings.
Grey heron
The grey heron (Ardea cinerea), is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions. It has become common in summer even inside the Arctic circle along the Norwegian coast.
It is a large bird, standing up to 100 cm (39 in) tall and measuring 84–102 cm (33–40 in) long with a 155–195 cm (61–77 in) wingspan. The body weight can range from 1.02–2.08 kg (2.2–4.6 lb). Its plumage is largely grey above, and off-white below. Adults have a white head with a broad black supercilium and slender crest, while immatures have a dull grey head. It has a powerful, pinkish-yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults. It has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted (S-shaped). This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks. The call is a loud croaking "fraaank". The Australian white-faced heron is often incorrectly called a grey heron. In Ireland, the grey heron is often colloquially called a "crane".
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării; Ukrainian: Дельта Дунаю, Del'ta Dunaju) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface area is 4,152 km2 (1,603 sq mi), and of that, 3,446 km2 (1,331 sq mi) are in Romania. With the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1,015 km2 (392 sq mi) with 865 km2 (334 sq mi) water surface), located south of the main delta, the total area of the Danube Delta reaches 5,165 km2 (1,994 sq mi). The Razelm - Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta proper and their combined territory is part of the World Heritage Sites.