50 Euros

The designs for the euro banknote series were selected through a competition held by the European Monetary Institute in 1996. Kalina's entry, submitted on behalf of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, won over rival concepts including one from the Bank of England's design team. His architectural motifs were deliberately fictional — composite structures in European styles rather than any identifiable building — specifically to avoid the political problem of favoring one member state over another.

The 2002 issue was printed simultaneously across multiple national central banks within the Eurosystem, each identifiable by a letter prefix in the serial number. Notes with "X" prefix were printed for Germany; "Y" for Greece — a detail that still drives collector sorting today.