The surrender of the Deutsche Mark, Dutch Guilder, French Franc and so on placed significant emphasis on the identity of the replacement Euro notes and coins not to show favouritism to or alternatively alienate any one country, therefore a neutral member state criteria.
The solution to the problem was down to the design ideas of an Austrian, Robert Kalina whose artwork commissioned in 2002 on the different denomination paper money featured iconic bridges.
We, in the United Kingdom only get our hands on Euro's when preparing to go on vacation in the Euro Zone but many may have, in those quiet moments of loading up our money belts or fidgeting in airport waiting areas, studied the illustrations and wondered if the trip abroad may involve sighting one of the seven bridge structures depicted.
The 50 Euro bridge is rather plain in a hard red engineering brick forming a single span between projecting buttresses topped with a low parapet.
In contrast is the 5 Euro bridge which is in the style of a grand Roman aqueduct with wide and multiple spanning arches stacked three high, functional but also a work of beauty.
On the 10 Euro design the bridge is a bit like those over the ornamental river or lake on an English Country Estate, Chatsworth or Harewood being slim, low and elegant.
The 20 Euro bridge is perhaps more Italianate and angular with five arch spans and buttress embellishments.
For 100 Euros you get a Parisian affair such as found spanning that nation's great rivers complete with pediments and sculptures.
At 200 Euro's the construction changes from dressed stonework to a more gaunt metal structure to enable a greater span to be engineered but still pretty and symmetrical which is pleasing to the eye.
The theme is continued on the 500 Euro bank note with a pylon configuration holding the roadway in suspension.
All of the above make for an interesting and attractive currency but yet all of the images are entirely fictional.
Whilst taking various features and forms from actual bridges around Europe they simply do not exist..... that is until quite recently.
A Dutch designer, Robin Stam took on the challenge of recreating the structures for real and they now form part of a new housing development in a suburb of Rotterdam.
The bridges are scaled down versions of those shown but fully functioning for pedestrian and cyclist use.
Every detail has been copied meticulously even down to the use of colour tinted concrete and even to the extent of cropping the arches where they could not be shown in full on the paper money itself.
The first appearance of the bridges brought much criticism from the new residents on the estate for their ugliness and apparent poor cropped style but when told of the Euro inspiration any opposition melted away with the whole sense of amusement.
The reproduction of the bridges from Classical Antiquity, the Roman period, the Gothic period, the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, Iron- and glass architecture and lastly contemporary, twentieth century architecture has not been cheap for the Rotterdam development but has proven to be quite a tourist attraction as well as self publicising the unique selling points of the location as a nice place to live. It is also a bit of a belly laugh for all involved. Sadly the bridge notes were only in circulation for a few years before being succeeded by other images including buildings....yes, more fictional ones.
Stam Designs for the copy bridges
Classical baroque design
Dutch Masters and the notes
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