[1] Like many of his contemporaries in trade and shipping, Søbøtker became a very wealthy member of an emerging bourgeoisie which was becoming a major force in the 19th century and was acquiring the habits that had previously been reserved for the aristocracy.

Over recent decades, it had become common for people to build stately summer residences north of the city while spending winters in town mansions in Copenhagen.

In 1806, Søbøtker acquired a farm, Øregaard, in Hellerup and commissioned the French architect Joseph-Jacques Ramée to build a suitable country house on the property.

Ramée was at that time working out of Hamburg but designed a number of similar houses in the same area for other wealthy families, including Sophienholm for Constantin Brun and Hellerupgård.

Øregård Museum holds a large topographic collection of around 3,000 pictures—oil paintings, watercolours, engravings and drawings—which depict Copenhagen and the area of the city.