Soren Kierkegaard

to be lit on those days when, according to the almanac, the moon would
notbeshining!
ItwasinthiscitythattheDanishGoldenAgedevelopedasortofintellec-
tualgreenhouseeffect.Anyoneandeveryonewasthere,themajorandthe
minor figures rubbing shoulders with one another—though all of them
were quite small in the physical sense, inasmuch as the average height for
adultmalesduringthisperiodwasfivefeet,fourinches!Viewedwithmod-
erneyesthecitywaspracticallypopulatedbydwarves,sowhenGrundtvig
(who himself towered to the perilous height of five feet, seven and one-
halfinches)spokeofgiantsintheformofdwarves,hewasbeingmorethan
merelywitty.
Thegreatfireofthesummerof1795hadburnt950ofthecapital’shouses
totheground;thereaftercamethemercilessattackof1807,whentheEn-
glish sent fourteen thousand firebombs over Copenhagen’s ramparts and
intothecity.Astimepassedandthetheburnt-outsiteswerebuiltononce
again,thecitywasresurrectedinfineneoclassicalfashion.Thetautnessand
disciplineofC.F.Hansen’smonumentalbuildings—thecombinedcityhall
and courthouse, the Metropolitan School, the Castle Church, Christians-
borg Castle, and the Church of Our Lady—was also replicated on the fa-
cadesofprivatehouses,whoseplanesurfaceswerepaintedinlimestoneand
sandstonehues,thuspresentingquiteadifferentappearancethantheolder
houses, with their projecting facades, gothic decoration, sinuous columns,
andflamboyantpilasters.Now,anarrowhorizontalbandofornamentation
betweenthebanksofwindowsforeachstory,adistinguished-lookingdoor
frame,andperhapsatriangulargablewithacoupleofdecorativedetailsnear
thetopweresufficient.Accessforfire-fightingequipmentwasimprovedby
widening the streets and mandating that buildings constructed at intersec-
tionshavetheircornerssetbackandcutoffonforty-five-degreeangles,thus
convertingpotentialbottlenecksintomini-plazas.Dressbecamesimpleras
well. Men would wear narrow trousers and tall boots, a brightly colored
vest of silk or velvet, a jacket in blue or brown with shiny buttons, a silk
scarf, and a black or gray silk tophat. Mustaches were no longer the sole
provinceofthemilitary,andoldermenmighttakesnuff,whilethosewho
were younger preferred to smoke cigars when they were out and a pipe
while at home among their books. As late as the 1840s women’s clothing
also remained unaffected and appealing; it was only in the mid-1850s that
thesituationgotoutofhandandcrinolinesbegantoasserttheirhegemony.
TheRoyalTheateronKongensNytorvwasthehuboftheCopenhagen
culturaluniverse.Afteritsmanyremodelingsthebuildingwasnotapretty
sight,butinsideitwasevenworse:Itwasamazeofdoors,narrowstairways,
and odd passageways where the guests were supposed to hang their coats.