Fire damages Danes’ Old Stock Exchange
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A fire raged through one of Copenhagen’s oldest buildings Tuesday, destroying about half of the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange and collapsing its iconic dragon-tail spire, as passersby rushed to help emergency workers save priceless paintings and other valuables.
The blaze broke out on the building’s roof during renovations, but police said it was too early to pinpoint the cause. The red-brick building, with its green copper roof and distinctive 184-foot spire in the shape of four intertwined dragon tails, is a major tourist attraction next to Denmark’s parliament, Christiansborg Palace, in the heart of the capital.
“A piece of Danish history is on fire,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wrote on Instagram, saying that it hurt to see the loss of such “irreplaceable cultural heritage.”
Ambulances were at the scene but there were no reports of casualties.
Among the pieces that had been on display in the building was a huge painting completed in 1895 by Danish artist P.S. Krøyer called, “From Copenhagen Stock Exchange.” No information has been released about which works of art were saved from the blaze, although video footage appeared to show the Krøyer painting being removed.
Jakob Vedsted Andersen, a Greater Copenhagen Fire Department spokesman, said the fire began on the roof Tuesday morning and quickly spread, collapsing parts of the roof and destroying about half of the building. He said no other buildings were at risk but that it could take firefighters 24 hours to secure the scene.