Sædding Kirke

There’s not much to see in Sædding. The romanesque, towerless Sædding Kirke was the only central feature I noticed in the midst of farmland stretching to the horizon.

It’s in Sædding that Søren Kierkegaard’s father, Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard was born. In fact, the family took its surname from the fields that neighbor the church, and a small cemetery (another translation of “Kirkegård”) bears witness to others of that name—relatives, perhaps. (Søren and his father are buried in Assistens Kirkegård in Copenhagen.)

In 1840, Søren visited Sædding. There was, not uncharacteristically, a lot on his mind. His father had recently passed away, leaving him to question the family curse that Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard claimed to have bequeathed to his children. As a shepherd boy on the heath surrounding Sædding, the father had raised his fist and cursed God. This incident haunted him into adulthood, and as his seven children died one after another, he came to believe that he was being punished for his youthful impiety. At some point he confided to his two surviving sons that he would outlive them both, that neither would attain the age of Jesus at the time of the crucifixion.

With the curse at least half disproved, and having walked on his father’s native soil, 27-year old Søren returned to Copenhagen and promptly, unexpectedly, proposed to young Regine Olsen—a pivotal moment in his life.

There is, oddly enough, a model ship hanging from the ceiling of the church. It bears Regine’s name.

To get to Sædding, take bus 67 from Skjern, direction Rækker Mølle. I didn’t stay in the area, but there may be accomodations available in the hostel in Bundsbæk Mølle, a few miles to the west.