Copenhagen’s famous 17th-century stock exchange, one of the most recognizable structures in Denmark’s capital, was largely destroyed by a fire.
The Børsen Old Stock Exchange, which finished construction in 1640, was suddenly engulfed in flames on Tuesday, in a moment reviving memories of the fire that heavily damaged Paris‘s Notre Dame cathedral in 2019. Danes rushed into the burning building to save priceless works of art, while firefighters struggled to contain the blaze.
“Everybody is crying at the Danish Chamber of Commerce right now,” Danish Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Mikkelsen told reporters. “It’s our cultural heritage that I’m looking at. It’s 400 years that have shaped Danish cultural history and the society we live in today.”
Mikkelsen was among the slew of people who rushed into the building to save as many artifacts as possible. According to Reuters, employees from the Chamber of Commerce and random passersby rushed into the building to assist emergency services in their effort to save the treasures inside.
Soldiers of the Royal Life Guards soon cordoned off the area around the building. The building’s iconic spire was consumed by the flames and collapsed, breaking in two.
Mikkelsen announced that roughly half the building had been destroyed in the inferno. Nevertheless, he vowed to rebuild it “no matter what.”
The building was undergoing renovations at the time of the fire, with much of the building covered in scaffolding. The scaffolding made the firefighters’ work more difficult, as the fire was harder to reach. The copper roof of the building fed the fire by trapping heat, the outlet reported.
Danish officials, including King Frederik X, expressed their grief over the fire.
“This morning, we woke up to a sad sight, as smoke over the roofs of Copenhagen gave evidence of the destructive fire at Bersen,” the king said in a statement. “An important part of our architectural cultural heritage was and continues to be in flames.”
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“The Queen and I would like to thank all of those who, since early this morning, have ensured that no one has been injured, and who have fought to save as much as possible of both the building as well as the many cultural treasures and works of art that Borsen holds,” he continued.
The Børsen Old Stock Exchange was constructed during the reign of King Christian IV, who holds the record for the longest-reigning monarch in Scandinavian history at just under 60 years. Though his disastrous intervention in the Thirty Years War on the side of the Protestants devastated the position of the country, his building projects, particularly the Børsen Old Stock Exchange, helped cement his legacy as one of Denmark’s most beloved kings.
