ner Mads Røyen, to purchase the building at 31 Købmagergade. Røyen
moved into the building, while Kierkegaard himself settled in number 43,
where he opened his own business in “Glazier Clausen’s Cellar.”
Not only was his shop located partly underground but his methods were
alsoabitshady.Thebusinesshadhardlygotoffthegroundbeforethecity’s
silk and clothing merchants reported Kierkegaard and other wool dealers
fro mJutland to the master of their guild. The resulting raid on these busi-
nesses uncovered French linens and silk ribbons. Jutland wool dealers were
not permitted to deal in such fine goods; therefore the master of the guild
imposedseverefinesupontheillegalimporters.Inturntheimporterscom-
plained to the authorities that the legal regulations governing the trade had
become so complex that no one could figure them out. The complaint hit
itsmark,andpursuanttoaresolutionofJuly30,1787,hosierswerepermit-
ted to trade in all sorts of cottage-industry woolen and linen goods, plus
Danish felt and swanskin (a tightly woven, heavy flannel, teased only on
oneside).ThefollowingyearKierkegaardalsoreceivedpermissiontotrade
in Chinese goods and West Indian wares: sugar, cane syrup, and coffee
beans. Nonetheless, he pressed his case all the way to the Supreme Court,
which found in his favor, and he was thereafter permitted to deal in such
luxury articles as cottons and silks. The Jutland wool dealers had won the
battle against the silken Copenhageners.
The economy was booming and Michael Kierkegaard was not one to
miss an opportunity. He invested his money in various properties on
Købmagergade, Peter Hvitfeldtsstræde, Kalveboderne, Sankt Pedersstræde,
Knabrostræde, and Helsingørgade; miraculously, he suffered no losses from
the great fire which ravaged Copenhagen in 1795. The following year he
inherited the estate of his mother’s well-to-do brother and bought a piece
of property in Sædding on which he had a fine half-timbered home built
forhiselderlyparentsandthreeofhisyoungersiblings,Karen,SidselMarie,
and Peder. The house was made of oak and painted red, so everyone could
see that Michael had done well, over there in the capital city. He himself
never saw Sædding again, but he did correspond with his sister Else, who
had been born the year he had left home.
During his first years in Copenhagen, Michael Kierkegaard’s circle of
friends and associates consisted primarily of fellow immigrants from Jutland
whowereemployedinthesamefield.Itwasthereforenosurprisetoanyone
whenMichaelmarriedRøyen’ssister,KirstineNielsdatter,onMay2,1794.
Peoplethoughtitwasabouttime,asMichaelwasbythenthirty-eightyears
old and Kirstine only a year younger. With 568 rixdollars of her own
money, Kirstine was a good match, but we have no idea how the two felt
about one another—the registry of marriages merely listed the bare facts:4 {1813–1834}