500 Mark 1977, Germany
| in Krause book | Number: 35b |
| Years of issue: | 01.06.1977 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Bundesbank Präsident: Dr. Otmar Emminger (01.06.1977 - 31.12.1979), Vizepräsident: Karl Otto Pöhl |
| Serie: | Serie 1960 |
| Specimen of: | 02.01.1970 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 170 х 85 |
| Printer: | Bundesdruckerei GmbH, Berlin |
* 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:
The Portrait of a Beardless Man, color on lime wood, 1521. The man - presumably, Hans Maler zu Schwaz (painter).
Avers:
The engraving on banknote is made after the portrait of the Beardless man (Bildnis eines bartlosen Mannes) by German painter Hans Maler zu Schwaz (1480/88-1526/29), made color on lime wood, 1521. Today is in Historic museum of Arts in Vienna, Austria (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien).
It can be assumed, that this is a self-portrait of the painter (Hans Maler was born in 1480 or 1488).
Hans Maler zu Schwaz (1480/1488 - 1526/1529) was a German painter born in Ulm and active as portraitist in the village of Schwaz, near Innsbruck. Maler may have trained with the German artist Bartholomäus Zeitblom, who was chief master of the School of Ulm between 1484 and 1517. He painted numerous portraits of members of the Habsburg court at Innsbruck as well as of wealthy merchants such as the Fuggers.
Maler's two most important patrons were Ferdinand I of Austria, who at the time was Archduke (Later Emperor) and the celebrated Fuggers. Ferdinand is known to have commissioned at least three portraits of himself and four of his wife, Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Maler also painted portraits in 1517 of Sebastian Andorfer, a successful metal maker and merchant from Schwaz. His portrait style rarely varied from his bust-format, where the subject's hands were not shown and without eye contact to the viewer.
He received commissions early on in his career from Ferdinand's grandfather, Maximilian I and was also commissioned in 1508 for frescoes depicting the Habsburg family tree in Ambras Castle. 
Revers:
The Eltz Castle symbolizes the German chivalry.
Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the XII century, 33 generations ago. Bürresheim Castle, Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle are the only castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed.
The castle is surrounded on three sides by the Elzbach River, a tributary on the north side of the Moselle. It is on a 70-meter (230 ft.) rock spur, on an important Roman trade route between rich farmlands and their markets. The Eltz Forest has been declared a nature reserve by Flora-Fauna-Habitat and Natura 2000.
Description
The castle is so-called Ganerbenburg, or castle belonging to community of joint heirs. This is castle divided into several parts, which belong to different families or different branches of family; this usually occurs when multiple owners of one or more territories jointly build castle to house themselves. Only very rich medieval European lord could afford to build castle on his land; many of them only owned one village, or even only part of a village. This was an insufficient base to afford castle. Such lords lived in knight's house, which was simple house, scarcely bigger than those of his tenants. In some parts of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, inheritance law required that the estate be divided among all successors. These successors, each of whose individual inheritance was too small to build a castle of his own, could build a castle together, where each owned one separate part for housing and all of them together shared the defensive fortification. In the case of Eltz, the family comprised three branches and the existing castle was enhanced with three separate complexes of buildings.
The main part of the castle consists of the family portions. At up to eight stories, these eight towers reach heights of between 30 and 40 meters (98 and 131 ft.). They are fortified with strong exterior walls; to the yard they present a partial framework. About 100 members of the owners' families lived in the over 100 rooms of the castle. A village once existed below the castle, on its southside, which housed servants, craftsman, and their families supporting the castle.
Platteltz, a Romanesque keep, is the oldest part of the castle, having begun in the 9th century as a simple manor with an earthen palisade. By 1157 the fortress was an important part of the empire under Frederick Barbarossa, standing astride the trade route from the Moselle Valley and the Eifel region. In the years 1331-1336, there were the only serious of military conflicts that the castle experienced. During the Eltz Feud, the lords of Eltzer, together with other free imperial knights, opposed the territorial policy of the Archbishop and Elector Balduin von Trier. The Eltz Castle was put under siege and possible capture and was bombarded with catapults by the Archbishop of the Diocese of Trier. A small siege castle, Trutzeltz Castle, was built on a rocky outcrop on the hillside above the castle, which can still be seen today as a few ruined walls outside of the northern side of the castle. The siege lasted for two years, but ended only when the free imperial knights had given up their imperial freedom. Balduin reinstated Johann again to the burgrave, but only as his subjects and no longer as a free knight. In 1472 the Rübenach house, built in the Late Gothic style, was completed. Remarkable are the Rübenach Lower Hall, a living room, and the Rübenach bedchamber with its opulently decorated walls.
Started in 1470 by Philipp zu Eltz, the 10-story Greater Rodendorf House takes it's name from the family's land holding in Lorraine. The oldest part is the flag hall with its late Gothic vaulted ceiling, which was probably originally a chapel. Construction was completed around 1520. The (so-called) Little Rodendorf house was finished in 1540, also in Late Gothic style. It contains the vaulted "banner-room".
The Kempenich house replaced the original hall in 1615. Every room of this part of the castle could be heated; in contrast, other castles might only have one or two heated rooms.
In the Palatinate War of Succession from 1688 to 1689, most of the early Rhenish castles were destroyed. Since Hans Anton was a senior officer in the French army to Eltz Üttingen, he was able to protect the castle Eltz from destruction.
Count Hugo Philipp zu Eltz was thought to have fled during the French rule on the Rhine from 1794 to 1815. The French confiscated his possessions on the Rhine and nearby Trier which included Eltz castle, as well as the associated goods which were held at the French headquarters in Koblenz.
In 1797, when Count Hugo Philipp later turned out to had remained hidden in Mainz, he came back to the reclaim of his lands, goods and wealth. In 1815 he became the sole owner of the castle through the purchase of the Rübenacher house and the landed property of the barons of Eltz-Rübenach.
In the XIX century, Count Karl zu Eltz was committed to the restoration of his castle. In the period between 1845 to 1888, 184,000 marks (about 15 million euros in 2015) was invested into the extensive construction work, very carefully preserving the existing architecture.
Extensive security and restoration work took place between the years 2009 to 2012. Among other things, the vault of flags hall was secured after it was at risk of partially collapsing walls and the porch of the Kempenich section. In addition to these static repairs, almost all the slate roofs were replaced. Structural problems were remedied in the ceiling and wood damage was repaired. In the interior, heating and sanitary facilities, windows and fire alarm system were renewed, and also historic plaster was restored. The half-timbered facades and a spiral staircase were renovated at the costs of around €4.4 million euros. The measures were supported by a €2 million euros grant from an economic stimulus package provided by the German federal government. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the German Foundation for Monument Protection and the owners provided further funds.
The Rübenach and Rodendorf families' homes in the castle are open to the public, while the Kempenich branch of the family uses the other third of the castle. The public is admitted seasonally, from April to October. Visitors can view the treasury, with gold, silver and porcelain artifacts and the armory of weapons and suits of armor.
The seal of German Bundesbank is nearby.
The inscription on the right top: "Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft".
Translation reads: "Those who forge bank notes or runs the counterfeit into circulation will be subject to imprisonment for at least two years."
DM printed until 1963 (then have been changed the interpretation of this article in the German law) instead of the word "Freiheitsstrafe" (deprivation of freedom) have the word "Zuchthaus" (penitentiary). At that time, the notion of a house of correction has become obsolete, so it was replaced.
Among the collectors the third series of banknotes (Series 1960) with the word "Zuchthaus" valued much higher then releases of the same series in 1970, 1977 and 1980. Although, in general, all notes in this series are valued higher then exchange rate, according to which, by the way, the Bundesbank still takes them for exchange to Euro.
Comments:
The signatures on banknote belongs to:
Otmar Emminger (02.03.1911 - 03.08.1986).
Karl Otto Pöhl (01.12.1929 - 09.12.2014).
Graphic artist: Hermann Eidenbenz.
Hermann Eidenbenz (September 4, 1902 - 25 February 1993) was a Swiss graphic artist and stamp artist.
The time of his birth his father managed several companies in India, his mother came from Germany (Schwaben). But he received his education in Switzerland.
His training as a graphic artist took place in Switzerland, first at "Orell Füssli" in Zurich and then in the School of Applied Arts in Zurich. 1923 was followed by a stay abroad at "Deffke and Hadank" in Berlin. As early as 1926 he became a teacher of writing and graphics at the arts and crafts school in Magdeburg. He practiced six years of this profession before he opened his own graphic studio in Basel with his brothers - Reinhold and Willi. In 1937 he was involved in the Pavilion of Switzerland for the World Exhibition in Paris from 1940 to 1943 he taught at the general trade school in Basel.
For Haas'sche type foundry he designed in 1945 the Graphique Font, in 1950 was followed by the Clarendon Font. Today these fonts are available from Linotype Library.
In 1953 he returned to Germany and became head of the department of commercial art at Werkkunstschule, in Braunschweig. In 1955 he joined the company "Fa.Reemtsma", in Hamburg, there to act as artistic collaborator.
He created numerous logos and posters. This also includes the logo of "Basler Verkehrsbetriebe" (BVB). The supported by two arms of Basilisk in Basel graced so many BVB vehicles than any other Signet before or since. In 1947 thus drove the first motor car. In addition Eidenbenz took over even the graphic design of the car numbers used from 1947 until today.
He created for Switzerland and for Germany In addition, banknotes and stamps. So he designed the first series of the D-Mark banknotes, issued by the Deutsche Bundesbank and the fifth series of banknotes of the Swiss franc, which came into circulation from 1956. The stamp of the German Post Office for the 100th anniversary of Carl Friedrich Gauss from 1955 was designed by him.
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