Romania 500000 Lei banknote 2000
National Bank of Romania - Banca Națională a României
Observe: Portrait of airplane builder Aurel Vlaicu (1882-1913); An Edelweiss flower (Leontopodium alpinum); A stylised airplane propeller; The Coat of Arms of Romania; Name of the issuing bank; The BNR logo; Banknote denomination in digits and in words; Authorized signatures of the Governor and Chief Cashier.
Reverse: Mountain eagle head (Aquila chrysaetos); Vlaicu II airplane sketch; Sketch of an airplane engine section; Banknote denomination in digits and in words; Name of the issuing bank; The BNR logo in the upper right and lower left corners; Legal provisions against counterfeiting: Printing and circulation of forged banknotes are punishable under law; Serial number - printed in black ink, vertically, on the left side; printed in red ink, horizontally, on the right side.
Romanian Lei banknotes
1999 "Solar Eclipse" Commemorative Issue
2000-2004 "Polymer" Issue
10000 Lei 50000 Lei 100000 Lei 500000 Lei 1000000 Lei
Aurel Vlaicu (November 19, 1882 – September 13, 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.
June 17, the day of Aurel Vlaicu's first powered flight, is celebrated as The National Aviation Day of Romania.
The second largest airport in Romania Aurel Vlaicu International Airport, and a YR-ASA registered TAROM Airbus A318-111 are named after him.
Aurel Vlaicu University, a public university founded in 1991 in Arad bears Vlaicu's name.
His name is listed second on the Romanian Airmen Heroes Memorial in Bucharest, after Gheorghe Caranda and before his friend and fellow pilot, Gheorghe Negel, who died in a plane crash one month after Vlaicu, on October 11, 1913.
A museum was established in his home village, now named Aurel Vlaicu. and a monument was erected near Bănești where he crashed his plane.
The 50 Romanian lei banknote has a portrait of Vlaicu on the obverse, and on the reverse a drawing of one of his airplanes and a cross-section of the airplane's engine.
A commemorative 50 bani coin has been issues by the Romanian National Bank in 2010.
His life was subject of a novel "Flăcăul din Binţinţi" by Constantin Ghiban (published in 1953), and of a movie by Mircea Drăgan (released in 1978).
Edelweiss - Leontopodium alpinum
Edelweiss - Leontopodium alpinum, usually called edelweiss, is a well-known mountain flower, belonging to the Asteraceae (the daisy or sunflower family).
The plant is unequally distributed and prefers rocky limestone places at about 1800–3000 m altitude. It is non toxic, and has been used traditionally in folk medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. The dense hair appears to be an adaptation to high altitudes, protecting the plant from cold, aridity and ultraviolet radiation. As a scarce short-lived flower found in remote mountain areas, the plant has been used as a symbol for alpinism, for rugged beauty and purity associated with the Alps, and as a national symbol especially of Austria and of Switzerland. There is a folklore associated with the Edelweiss in which it is stated that giving this flower as a gift to a loved one is a promise of dedication.
A Vlaicu II
The A Vlaicu II was the second powered airplane designed and built by Aurel Vlaicu.
The construction of A. Vlaicu Nr. II was started in December 1910 at the Școala de Arte și Meserii (Arts and Crafts School) in Bucharest, on a budget of 16,000 lei. It was an improved version of Vlaicu's earlier airplane, the A. Vlaicu Nr. I.
The A. Vlaicu Nr. II first flew in April 1911 on Cotroceni airfield in Bucharest.
Between 23 and 30 June 1912 Vlaicu flew the A. Vlaicu Nr. II at the Die Internationale Flugwoche at Aspern near Vienna, competing against 42 other aviators including Roland Garros. Vlaicu won prizes totaling 7,500 Austro-Hungarian krone for precision landing, projectile throwing and tight flying around a pole. The competition number of the A. Vlaicu Nr. II was 38, painted on the left wing and stabilizer.
On return from Aspern he performed demonstration flights throughout Transylvania at Arad, Lugoj, Hațeg, Orăștie, Vršac, Alba Iulia, Săliște, Târgu Mureș and Dumbrăveni. The year before he flew at Blaj, Sibiu, Brașov, Iași and Cernăuți.
During the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars, Aurel Vlaicu flew reconnaissance missions south of Danube in the aircraft.
It was destroyed on September 13, 1913 in the crash that cost Aurel Vlaicu his life, when he attempted to make the first flight across the Carpathian Mountains. Parts from the wreckage are preserved in several Romanian museums: the Aurel Vlaicu Memorial House, the National Military Museum in Bucharest and the Aviation Museum in Bucharest.
Golden eagle - Aquila chrysaetos
The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and massive, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey (mainly hares, rabbits, marmots and other ground squirrels).
Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2 (77 sq mi). They build large nests in high places (mainly cliffs) to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Females lay up to four eggs, and then incubate them for six weeks. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months. These juvenile golden eagles usually attain full independence in the fall, after which they wander widely until establishing a territory for themselves in four to five years.
Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many areas which are now more heavily populated by humans. Despite being extirpated from or uncommon in some its former range, the species is still fairly ubiquitous, being present in sizeable stretches of Eurasia, North America, and parts of North Africa. It is the largest and least populous of the five species of true accipitrid to occur as a breeding species in both the Palearctic and the Nearctic.
For centuries, this species has been one of the most highly regarded birds used in falconry, with the Eurasian subspecies having been used to hunt and kill prey such as gray wolves (Canis lupus) in some native communities. Due to its hunting prowess, the golden eagle is regarded with great mystic reverence in some ancient, tribal cultures. The golden eagle is one of the most extensively studied species of raptor in the world in some parts of its range, such as the Western United States and the Western Palearctic.