100 Litų 1991 (1993), Lithuania
| in Krause book | Number: 50a |
| Years of issue: | 1991 (1993) |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Valdybos Pirmininkas: Vilius Baldišis (31.07.1990 - 10.03.1992) |
| Serie: | 1993 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 1991 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 135 х 65 |
| Printer: | United States Bank Note Corporation (U.S.A.) |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Lithuanian coat of arms "Vytis".
Avers:
The engraving is made after this portrait of Simonas Daukantas ("A portrait of Szymon Dowkont"), oil on canvas, by lithuanian painter Jan Rustem, at that time active in Imperial Russia.
Simonas Daukantas or Szymon Dowkont (28 October 1793 - 6 December 1864) was a Lithuanian/Samogitian writer, ethnographer and prose historian. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian national revival, he is credited as an author of the first book on the history of Lithuania written in the Lithuanian language.He also published several books on Lithuanian and Samogitian folklore, and wrote a Polish-Lithuanian dictionary. Daukantas wrote his historical works under the influence of the Romanticism of the time.
Daukantas attributed whatever led to the downfall of the Lithuanian Village to the Polish nobility and the ruling class, which became self-interested and weak in adapting folk tales,songs,customs, costumes language and idioms of the Lithuanian people and their language. As an author he published under a variety of pen-names, including, Jakyb Łaukys, K.V.Mylė, Jokūbas Laukys (Jokyb's Łaukys), Motiejus Šauklys, J.Devynakis, Jonas Girdenis, Jonas Raganius, Antanas Žeimys, Jonas Purvys and Antanas Vaineikis, some of them mentioned also in Polonised form. 
The coat of arms of Lithuania, consisting of an armour-clad knight on horseback holding an olden sword and shield, is also known as Vytis (pronounced [ʋiːt̪ɪs], "the Chaser"). The Lithuanian coat of arms is one of the oldest national coats of arms in Europe. It is one of very few containing symbolism adopted from ducal portrait seals rather than from coats of arms of dynasties, which is the case for most European countries.
Article 15 of the Constitution of Lithuania, approved by national referendum in 1992, stipulates, "The Coat of Arms of the State shall be a white Vytis on a red field". Heraldic shield features the field Gules (red) with an armoured knight on a horse salient Argent (white). The knight is holding in his dexter hand a sword Argent above his head. A shield Azure hangs on the sinister shoulder of the knight with a double cross Or (yellow) on it. The horse saddle, straps, and belts are Azure. The hilt of the sword and the fastening of the sheath, the stirrups, the curb bits of the bridle, the horseshoes, as well as the decoration of the harness, are Or (gold).
The blazon is the following:
Gules, a knight armed cap-à-pie mounted on a horse salient argent, brandishing a sword proper and maintaining a shield azure charged with a cross of Lorraine Or.
Denominations in numerals are in three corners. In words lower, centered.
Revers:
Aerial view at Vilnius Old Town.
The Old Town of Vilnius (Lithuanian: Vilniaus senamiestis), one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe, has an area of 3.59 square kilometers (887 acres). It encompasses 74 quarters, with 70 streets and lanes numbering 1487 buildings with a total floor area of 1,497,000 square meters. The oldest part of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, it has developed over the course of many centuries, and has been shaped by the city's history and a constantly changing cultural influence. It is a place where some of Europe's greatest architectural styles - gothic, renaissance, baroque and neoclassical - stand side by side and complement each other.
One of the most elaborate architectural complexes is the Vilnius University Architectural Ensemble, which occupies a large part of the Old Town and has 13 courtyards. It was selected to represent Lithuania in the Mini-Europe Park in Brussels.
In 1994 the Vilnius Old Town was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List (No. 541) in recognition of its universal value and originality. The definition of "historic center" itself has a broader meaning than the Old Town, formerly encircled with defensive walls. It embraces the valuable historical suburbs of Vilnius, such as Užupis, which historically used to be outside the city boundaries. Therefore Užupis is often considered a part of the Old Town of Vilnius.
The focus is the architectural ensemble of Vilnius University with St. John's Church and its belfry.
Vilnius University (Lithuanian: Vilniaus universitetas; other names exist) is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Northern Europe. It is the largest university in Lithuania.
The university was founded in 1579 as the Jesuit Academy (College) of Vilnius by Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland - Stephen Báthory. It was the third oldest university in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the aftermath of the Third Partition of Poland (1795) and the November Uprising (1830-1831), the university was closed down and suspended its operation until 1919. In the aftermath of World War I the university saw failed attempts to restart it by Lithuania (December 1918) and invading Soviet forces (March 1919). It finally resumed operations as Stefan Batory University in Poland (August 1919), a period followed by another Soviet occupation in 1920, and the less than two-years of the Republic of Central Lithuania, incorporated into Poland in 1922.
Following Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, the university was briefly administered by the Lithuanian authorities (from October 1939), and then after Soviet annexation of Lithuania (June 1940), punctuated by a period of German occupation after German invasion of the Soviet Union (1941-1944), administrated as Vilnius State University by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1945 the Polish community of students and scholars of Stafan Batory University was transferred to Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it resumed its status as one of the prominent universities in Lithuania: Vilnius University.
The wide-ranging Vilnius University ensemble represents all major architectural styles that predominated in Lithuania: Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism.
The Church of St. Johns (Lithuanian: Vilniaus Šv. Jono Krikštytojo ir Šv. Jono apaštalo ir evangelisto bažnyčia) is located at the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania. The church was built in 1388-1426, reconstructed in the XVI and XVII centuries. The tower, separate from the church itself, was built in the XVI century. After the fire in 1737, during 1738-1748 architect Johann Christoph Glaubitz completely reconstructed the church in style of late Baroque. The church is dedicated to both St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.
The layout of the Church of St. Johns still reflects its original Gothic structure. It is a 28-by-69-meters (92 ft. × 226 ft.) hall church with three naves and seven asymmetrical chapels. The tower, consisting of 5 gradually decreasing portions, is the tallest building of Vilnius Old Town (69 meters (226 ft.)).
Denominations in numerals are in all corners. Lower, centered, in words.
Comments:
Designer: Rytis Valantinas.
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