Copenhagen’s Børsbygningen Engulfed in Flames, Old Stock Exchange Partially Collapses
Copenhagen’s skyline as viewed from the Rundetårn
Copenhagen’s Børsbygningen, or bourse building, a popular tourist attraction known for its distinctive spire shaped as the tails of four dragons entwined together, partially collapsed on Tuesday, after a fire toppled its spire.
The structure was swiftly engulfed, causing thick grey smoke to rise above the city in a scene that brought to mind the 2019 blaze at Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral.
The Børsen, which reached a height of 184’ (56 m), was built under the reign of Christian IV in the period 1619 to 1640 and is considered an excellent example of the Dutch Renaissance style in Denmark. Protected under conservation laws, the building is situated next to the Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament, on the island of Slotsholmen.
Videos posted on social media show the final moments of the spire as it broke in half as it tumbled down to the street below. A large piece crashed to the ground next to a fire department vehicle.
The Børsbygningen is a repository of historic artifacts and employees from the Dansk Erhverv, the Danish Chamber of Commerce, including its CEO, Brian Mikkelsen. Emergency services workers and passers-by were seen carrying paintings away from the building in an effort to save the Børsen’s holdings.
Mikkelsen later told reporters that a firefighter gave him the top of the spire on Wednesday morning after it was recovered following its fall.
The walls of the building are still standing but the interior has been badly damaged, authorities said.
Premierminister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement onTuesday that a “piece of Danish history” was on fire, calling the building “irreplaceable.”
While tragic, this week’s fire did not compare to the city’s fire of 1728.
The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the city’s history as well as Denmark’s. It began on the evening of October 20, 1728, and continued to burn until the morning of the October 23. It began in a building on the Lille Sankt Clemens street. At the inquiries held after the fire was over, the occupants of a second-floor apartment stated that their seven-year-old son had started the fire by accidentally knocking over a candle, but the inquiry’s findings indicated that it was more likely that it was the result of carelessness on the part of the parents.
The fire, meanwhile, destroyed approximately 28% of the city and left 20% of the population homeless.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
