header Notes Collection

100 Markkaa 1991. Litt. A, Finland

in Krause book Number: 119
Years of issue: 1991
Edition: 277 200 000
Signatures: Ollila Esko (1983 - 1991), Heinonen Antti (1990 - 2000)
Serie: Famous personalities
Specimen of: 1986
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 142 х 69
Printer: Bank of Finland Security Printing House, Setelipaino Sedeltryckeriet, Vantaa



100 Markkaa 1991. Litt. A




Jean Sibelius.


100 Markkaa 1991. Litt. A

Jean Sibelius

The engraving on banknote is, presumably, made from this photo of Jean Sibelius. The photo made approx. in 1918.

Jean Sibelius (born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, 8 December 1865, Hämeenlinna – 20 September 1957, Ainola), was a Finnish violinist and composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. Widely recognized as his country's national composer, Sibelius is often credited for supporting the rise of the Finnish national identity in the country's struggle for independence.

The core of his oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies which, like his other major works, continue to be performed and recorded in his home country and internationally. In addition to his symphonies, Sibelius' best-known compositions include "Finlandia", "the Karelia Suite", "Valse triste", "the Violin Concerto", the choral symphony "Kullervo", and "The Swan of Tuonela" (from the "Lemminkäinen" Suite). Other works include pieces inspired by the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, over a hundred songs for voice and piano, incidental music for numerous plays, the opera "Jungfrun i tornet" ("The Maiden in the Tower"), chamber music, piano music, Masonic ritual music, and 21 publications of choral music. Throughout his career, the composer found inspiration in nature and Nordic mythology, especially the heroic legends of the national epic, the Kalevala.

Sibelius composed prolifically until the mid-1920s but after completing his "Seventh Symphony" (1924), the incidental music to "The Tempest" (1926), and the tone poem "Tapiola" (1926), he failed to produce any major works in his last thirty years, a stunning and perplexing decline commonly referred to as "The Silence of Järvenpää", the location of his home. Although he is reputed to have stopped composing, he attempted to continue writing, including abortive efforts on an eighth symphony. In later life, he wrote Masonic music and re-edited some earlier works while retaining an active but not always favourable interest in new developments in music.

The Finnish 100 mark note featured his image until 2002 when the euro was adopted. Since 2011, Finland has celebrated a Flag Day on 8 December, the composer's birthday, also known as the "Day of Finnish Music". In 2015, the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, a number of special concerts and events have been planned, especially in the city of Helsinki. The asteroid 1405 Sibelius was named in his honour.

Above denomination in words are 3 circles for visually impaired.

Denomination is centered, in numeral in lower left corner.


100 Markkaa 1991. Litt. A

Whooper swan Whooper swan

On the banknote depicts a flock of Whooper swanы in flight over the forest lake.

Whooper swans are much admired in Europe. They are the national birds of Finland and featured on the Finnish 1 euro coin.

The whooper swan (pronounced hooper), Cygnus cygnus, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan. Francis Willughby and John Ray's Ornithology of 1676 referred to the this swan as "the Elk, Hooper, or wild Swan".

The whooper swan is similar in appearance to the Bewick's swan. It is larger, however, at a length of 140-165 cm. (55-65 in.) and a wingspan of 205-275 cm. (81-108 in.). Weight typically is in the range of 7.4-14 kg. (16-31 lb.), with an average of 9.8-11.4 kg. (22-25 lb.) for males and 8.2-9.2 kg. (18-20 lb.) for females. The verified record mass was 15.5 kg. (34 lb.) for a wintering male from Denmark. It is considered to be amongst the heaviest flying birds. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 56.2-63.5 cm. (22.1-25.0 in.), the tarsus is 10.4-13 cm. (4.1-5.1 in.) and the bill is 9.2-11.6 cm. (3.6-4.6 in.). It has a more angular head shape and a more variable bill pattern that always shows more yellow than black (Bewick's swans have more black than yellow).



I have received information, that is not confirmed 100% by the Bank of Finland, that the engraving was made with a set of photographs taken over the Swan Lake in the park Aulanko, in Hämeenlinna, birthplace of Jean Sibelius.

Hämeenlinna (Swedish: Tavastehus) is a city and municipality of about 68,000 inhabitants[2] in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the province of Southern Finland. Nearby cities include the capital Helsinki (98 km. or 61 mi.), Tampere (73 km. or 45 mi.) and Lahti (72 km. or 45 mi.).

The medieval Häme Castle (Hämeen linna) is located in the city. The municipalities of Hauho, Kalvola, Lammi, Renko and Tuulos were consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 1 January 2009.

Aulanko Parkland

Panorama of the swan lake in Aulanko Parkland. Around the lake grow, mainly deciduous trees, but the park itself Aulanko consists mainly of softwood (they are depicted on the banknote).

The region of Häme has been inhabited for over 10 000 years. In Aulanko, people have shaped the landscape almost everywhere in the nature reserve. Already about 2000 years ago, there was a religious site and a fortress on Aulangonvuori Hill. The top of the hill was probably cut treeless at the time. Since the Middle Ages, the area has also been used for cattle pasturing, so the forest has not been in its natural state for a long time. The fortification was destroyed in the mid 1200s, when the Swedish started building Häme Castle a couple of kilometers away, along the waterway of Vanajavesi.

There are two places in the nature reserve where the location of the ancient shoreline has been marked with signboards: the shore of Yoldia Sea from about 8000 BC and the shore of Lake Ancylus from about 6500 BC.

The history of the forest park begins in 1883, when colonel Hugo Standertskjöld (1844-1931), who had made his money manufacturing arms in Russia, bought Karlberg estate on the shore of Lake Vanajavesi. The main building of Karlberg estate was located where Hotel Aulanko is nowadays, but the original building was destroyed in a fire in 1928.

During 1883-1910, Standertskjöld carried out a huge project: he hired 250 workmen to build an English style park on his land. During that time were created the large artificial ponds, Lake Joutsenlampi and Lake Metsälampi, the impressive ruins of the granite castle, about 14 km. of new roads, scenic lookout terraces and pavilions. In 1907, a 33-meters-tall scenic lookout tower was built at the location where the ancient fortress used to be on Aulangonvuori Hill. In addition, foreign trees, flowers and bushes were planted in the area. At the turn of the 19th and the XX century, there was also the first zoo in Finland, where wild reindeer, red deer, pheasants and peacocks lived. The park was open for the townspeople of Hämeenlinna as well as tourists.

It was colonel Standertskjöld's will that the park would stay open for all visitors. When the colonel got old, the town of Hämeenlinna acquired the area in 1926, and it became protected four years later, by a decision of the county governor of Häme. Due to this, a management plan was made for the area, and more foreign trees were planted to grow in groups and to form small forests. Most of the trees in the park originate from these plantings in the 1930s, but a few individual trees from the colonel's time still also survive.

The government aquired the land in 1963. It was not until 1991 that the area became protected by the law, and the 0,5 sq.km landscape forest next to it was included in the nature reserve. Since 2002, the area has been managed by Metsähallitus. Nowadays, Aulanko area belongs to the first National Urban Park in Finland. (www.nationalparks.fi)

On top is incomplete finish coat of arms.

The Lion is an ancient Scandinavian symbol of authority and power, the symbol of chivalry (hand) and saber - involvement in the general culture of Christian Europe in the fight against the Muslims.

Denomination in numeral is in top right corner, in numeral and words lower, centered.


Obverse designer: Torsten Ekstrom.

Reverse designer: Erik Bruun (born in 1926 in Viipuri (Vyborg)) - Finnish graphic designer.

1 Euro 1 Euro

Whooper swans are much admired in Europe. They are the national birds of Finland and featured on the Finnish 1 euro coin. I also have such coin in my collection.