Denmark’s iconic exchange destroyed
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK • A fire raged through one of Copenhagen’s oldest buildings Tuesday, causing the collapse of the iconic spire of the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange as passersby rushed to help emergency services save priceless paintings and other valuables.
The blaze broke out on the building’s copper roof during renovations, and police said it was too early to say what caused it. The building with its distinctive 56-metre spire in the shape of four intertwined dragon tails has been 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.
Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-schmidt said it was “touching” to see how many people lent their hand “to save art treasures and iconic images from the burning building.” One man jumped off his bicycle on his way to work to help during an initial period before firefighters cleared people from the building.
Brian Mikkelsen, chief of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which is headquartered in the Old Stock Exchange and owns the building, was seen with his staff scrolling through a binder of photos of paintings to be saved. Works were carried to the nearby parliament and national archive building. Rescuers used tools such as crowbars to remove valuables to save them from the fire, Mikkelsen said.
“We have been able to rescue a lot,” a visibly moved Mikkelsen told reporters. “It is a national disaster.”
The fire began on the roof Tuesday morning and spread to much of the building, collapsing parts of the roof and destroying about half of the building, firefighters spokesman Jakob Vedsted Andersen said.
There was no risk to other buildings, but it was expected to take firefighters 24 hours to secure the scene, he said.
Tommy Laursen of the Copenhagen police said it was too early to say what caused the fire and that police would able to enter the building in “a few days.”
Firefighters who reportedly pumped water from the nearby canal were seen spraying water through the doorway of the Old Stock Exchange’s gilded hall that is used for gala dinners, conferences and other events and where many paintings hung.
Huge billows of smoke rose over downtown Copenhagen and could be seen from southern Sweden, which is separated by a narrow waterway.
Up to 90 members of an army unit were deployed from a nearby base to cordon off the area and “secure valuables,” Denmark’s armed forces said.