Dark clouds of smoke and flames stood over the old stock exchange in Copenhagen (Denmark). A few days after the large construction, the facade gives way.
Flames
in the middle
of
Copenhagen
: A fire broke out in the old stock exchange on Tuesday morning (April 16).
Danish cultural treasures
and
art collection
in
danger
: emergency services are trying to bring paintings from the 400-year-old building to safety
Update from April 18th, 6:38 p.m.:
Two days after the devastating fire at the stock exchange building in Copenhagen, the facade has now collapsed despite stabilization. The burned-out half of the Copenhagen landmark has collapsed, the Danish fire department said. “Unfortunately, the facade along the Frederiksholms Canal collapsed,” the emergency services said on the social media platform X. No one was injured.
Previously, attempts had been made to stabilize the walls, which were in danger of collapsing, using containers; but only from the outside. The inside was still blocked by rubble. All workers were able to get to safety when the collapse occurred.
Danish king regrets “sad sight” of historic stock exchange – should be rebuilt
Update from April 16th, 4:39 p.m.:
The fire in the historic stock exchange in Copenhagen is under control. The fire extinguishing work is still ongoing, said the fire department's operations manager, Jakob Vedsted Andersen, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the fire, which suddenly broke out on Tuesday morning, remained unclear. Half of the stock exchange was more or less burned down, it was said. Around 135 forces were deployed.
“We have decided with our board that we will definitely rebuild the Børsen,” said Brian Mikkelsen, managing director of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, in connection with the devastating fire. The old stock exchange, which is now home to the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which also owns the building, houses, among other things, a large art collection. Some of the works of art were saved. Passers-by also helped in some cases. The amount of damage was initially unclear.
The Danish King Frederik X has now also commented. On the royal family's Instagram profile, he called the fire a "sad sight." He then thanked all the emergency services and people who had helped since the morning to ensure that no one was injured and to preserve the building and the art treasures stored in it in the best possible way.
Update from April 16th, 4:11 p.m
.: Clouds of smoke are still in the air over the Danish capital. The fire has now subsided, reports
Ekstrabladet
. However, the operation on the old stock exchange in Copenhagen is not yet over. Hundreds of firefighters have been fighting the flames since Tuesday morning. Part of the building was badly damaged, said operations manager Tim Ole Simonsen at Hovedstadens Beredskab in an interview with
TV2.
The full extent of the damage to the 117 meter wide brick building is initially unclear.
The Danish Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt thanks the hundreds of rescuers via As a symbol of Denmark's strong history as a trading nation." The spire collapsed shortly after the fire broke out.
The “Dragespir” was placed on the historic building in 1625. The top of the tower, entwined with four dragon tails, was crowned with three crowns symbolizing the Scandinavian empires - Denmark, Norway and Sweden. According to legend, these dragons protected the building from major fires in the city's history. However, the fire on Tuesday probably broke out very close to the Dragon Tower.
400-year-old building in flames in Copenhagen – fire still out of control
Update from April 16th, 12:45 p.m
.: The fire department says the firefighting work in the middle of the Danish capital Copenhagen is going on under high pressure. According to media reports, the fire at the old stock exchange is still out of control. Half of the huge historic building is in flames, reports emergency manager Jakob Vedsted Andersen Vestergaard on
TV2 News
. The copper roof had collapsed and was fueling the fire.
The situation is critical. Difficult to put out the fire under the copper roof. If the supporting structures inside the building burn, the walls become unstable. According to Jyllands-Posten, the building will burn down the tower towards Christiansborg; the part that extends from the tower to the harbor has been secured by rescue workers.
Copenhagen is experiencing a “Notre Dame moment” – “terrible images” show historical destruction
Update from April 16, 10:55 a.m
.: The fire in the old stock exchange in Copenhagen brings back memories of the catastrophic fire at Notre Dame in April 2019. The cathedral in Paris was partially destroyed. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen expressed shock at the “terrible images” on Platform X. It is Denmark’s “own Notre Dame moment”.
Paintings, including the work “From the Copenhagen Stock Exchange” by PS Krøyer, were saved from the art collection. Meanwhile, the fire brigade is trying to put out the flames. A wing of Christiansborg Palace had to be evacuated on Tuesday morning because of the fire, and the Finance Ministry buildings were also affected, Copenhagen police said.
Flames in Copenhagen: Historic building burns ablaze - stock exchange spire collapsed
First report from April 16th, 10:03 a.m.:
Copenhagen - The major fire broke out on Tuesday morning. Videos and photos of the fire can be seen on social networks. The historic stock exchange - one of the oldest buildings in Copenhagen, Denmark - is engulfed in flames.
Fire inferno in Copenhagen – the stock exchange is on fire
The spire of the building has already collapsed. Several streets and the city center around the stock exchange have been cordoned off, the Copenhagen police said on X. “We assume that the area will be closed for a longer period of time.”
The old stock exchange with the old church tower was completed in Copenhagen in 1625. It is considered a landmark. The historic complex is currently being restored. Scaffolding and tarpaulins can be seen on various videos on social networks.
The aim of the current restoration work was to restore the facade to its original appearance. In the 19th century, the stock exchange was improperly renovated.
Danish cultural heritage in flames – passers-by help save paintings
“Terrible pictures from the stock market this morning. 400 years of Danish cultural heritage in flames,” wrote Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt on X (formerly Twitter).
Stock exchange employees, emergency services and passers-by try to bring valuable inventory to safety from the flames. “How touching it is to see how the employees of Börse, good people from the rescue service and passing Copenhageners work together to save art treasures and iconic images from the burning building,” said Danish Culture Minister on X. More information to follow.
(dpa/ml)