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Plovmanden

When the Landowner Appeared on a Banknote

Why did a landowner from Lolland appear on Denmark’s 500-kroner note?

The portrait depicts Christian Ditlev Frederik Reventlow, the former owner of Christianssæde and one of the men who helped transform Denmark. On the reverse side is a farmer with his plough – which is precisely why the note was nicknamed ‘The Ploughman’.

The design was far from random. Reventlow was behind some of the country’s most important reforms. He worked to ensure that farmers gained freedom, better education and the opportunity to own their own land. That is why the farmer and the reformer were brought together on a single banknote – as a symbol of the change that laid the foundations for modern Denmark.

A man who left his mark

The portrait of Reventlow on the 500-kroner note can be seen here at Christianssæde, where he lived, worked and left a lasting mark on both the estate and the country.