3. The Søren Kierkegaard Archive - a unique archive being threatened by the very wrapping which should protect it!

Today Søren Kierkegaard is the Danish author about whom all around the world most pages are written every year. After his death in 1855 - he collapsed in the street and was brought to the Frederik Hospital, the present Danish Museum of Decorative Art where he died - his library and the rest of the contents of his home were sold at auction.

His manuscripts, journals and remaining papers were registered by his nephew Henrik Lund, while still kept in Kierkegaards apartment, whereupon they were deposited with Kierkegaard's brother-in-law J.C. Lund. The entire material was in 1865 transferred to the brother P.C. Kierkegaard who was bishop of Aalborg. The brother made it available to H.P. Barfod, who in 1869-77 published Søren Kierkegaard's Posthumous Papers. In 1875 the archive was handed over to the University Library and has since been transferred to The Royal Library.

The Søren Kierkegaard Archive contains a total of 82 fascicules or packages, placed in 40 boxes and files. The extensive material has over the years been used frequently in preparation for Søren Kierkegaard editions, lately for Writings by Søren Kierkegaard. In connection with this latest project a monograph was published in 1996 on Kierkegaard's manuscripts, their creation and history. The book describes i.a. how closely - thanks to the archive - it has been possible to follow the individual steps in Kierkegaard's work. Not only because of the scholars' frequent use of the archive, but also because of the materials used for packaging (acidiferous paper and cardboard) that have since proved to have a negative chemical effect, the archive should be repackaged in accordance with modern methods.