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Swedish icons such as Ingmar Bergman, actress Greta Garbo, author Astrid Lindgren and singer Birgit Nilsson will be featured on new Swedish banknotes, the central bank said Wednesday.

A total of six prominent Swedes were selected for a set of bills -- including a new 200-kronor denomination -- to come into circulation around 2014-2015.

The two other personalities chosen are former United Nations secretary general Dag Hammerskjoeld and author and poet Evert Taube.

The central bank said it chose "people who have made positive and important contributions to Sweden’s cultural heritage during the 20th century."

The figures chosen also had to be "popular with the general public and, preferably ... also well-known internationally," the bank said, adding that it also aimed to respect gender balance.

Lindgren, who created the famous Pippi Longstocking character and died in 2002, will be featured on the 20-kronor note, replacing Selma Lagerloef, another of Sweden's well-known female authors.

Taube (1890-1976) will appear on the 50-kronor note and Hollywood star Garbo (1905-1990) on the 100-kronor bill.

Acclaimed film director Bergman (1918-2007) will be featured on the 200-kronor bill, which does not yet exist.

Legendary soprano Nilsson (1918-2005) and top diplomat Hammerskjoeld will be featured on the two largest bills, the 500-kronor and 1000-kronor notes.

A new two-kronor coin will also be introduced. It will bear the face of the reigning monarch like the other coins.