Summary of the morning
A huge fire broke out at Copenhagen’s 17th-century former stock exchange, one of the Danish capital’s most famous landmarks, engulfing the historic building’s roof and toppling its distinctive spire.
Eyewitnesses described shock and sadness in the city, with smoke visible from afar.
Denmark’s deputy prime minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, described the event as “our own Notre-Dame moment.”
Firefighters and volunteers managed to rescue a large part of the stock exchange’s collection of artworks, but some artefacts will likely have been damaged by the flames.
“My feeling is that we have saved a lot”, said Jakob Vedsted, director of Copenhagen fire and rescue services. “But there is a large Christian IV sculpture that weighs several tons, we haven’t been able to get it out”.
Some 120 people were working to contain the fire.
Firefighting efforts are still continuing, with officials expecting the fire to be under control within the next hours.
We are now closing our blog but you can read the full story here.
Updated
Firefighting operation to continue
Emergency services are still battling flames in part of the old stock exchange building in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen fire department chief Jakob Vedsted Andersen told reporters that parts of the roof had collapsed and the fire spread to several floors, Reuters reported.
Some 120 people were working to contain the fire but only around 40% of it was under control, Vedsted said.
He also said that the firefighting operation would go on for at least 24 hours.
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'My feeling is that we have saved a lot', fire and rescue services chief says
Firefighters and volunteers managed to rescue a large part of the stock exchange’s collection of artworks, but some artefacts will likely have been damaged by the flames, officials said at a press conference at noon.
“My feeling is that we have saved a lot”, said Jakob Vedsted, director of Copenhagen fire and rescue services. “But there is a large Christian IV sculpture that weighs several tons, we haven’t been able to get it out”.
Christian IV ruled as King of Denmark and Norway, and duke of Holstein and Schleswig, from 1588 until 1648, his nigh-on 60-year reign making him the longest-serving monarch in Scandinavian history. A statue of Christian IV outside the Stock Exchange was unveiled in 2019.
Vedstedt said the rescue effort had been facilitated by the fact that many of the artworks had been recently transported because of the renovation works on the building.
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Brian Mikkelsen, the head of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, said that it’s the most tragic day of his life, and that he himself helped get pictures out of the burning building, Berlingske reported.
A lot was saved but not everything, Mikkelsen said.
Rita, a reader, sent in a photo of the Old Stock Exchange’s interior last year.
Danish emergency services have said that they do not assess that smoke from the fire is more dangerous than ordinary building smoke, but that citizens should keep their distance and seek medical attention if they experience breathing difficulties.
“We are saving everything we possibly can,” a spokesperson for the fire department told reporters, Reuters reported.
Moment spire collapses at Copenhagen's old stock exchange – video
Watch footage of the fire in Copenhagen:
Firefighters spokesman Jakob Vedsted Andersen said the fire, which began this morning in the copper roof of the Old Stock Exchange, spread to much of the building and the roof, parts of which also collapsed, and destroyed the building’s interior, the AP reported.
Up to 90 members of an army unit were also deployed from a nearby base to cordon off the area and “secure valuables.”
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Rescuers scramble to save historic art
As well as being a historic building in its own right, the Copenhagen Stock Exchange also holds one of Denmark’s most valuable collections of art, which rescue workers and volunteers scrambled to save from the flames this morning.
Most notably, the first-floor collection includes the iconic painting “From the Copenhagen Stock Exchange” by 19th-century Danish-Norwegian artist Peder Severin Krøyer. Photos from the site showed eight people, including one man wearing a cycling helmet, ushering the 254cm by 409cm painting to safety.
Finished in 1895, the painting shows a long line of stock exchange people in coattails standing in the building’s hall. It was paid for by the people portrayed in the picture, with those in the front row having paid 550 Danish crowns to be most visible and cheaper rates for those at the back. The artist was handsomely reimbursed, with the total fee amounting to the contemporary equivalent of around 1.55m Danish crowns.
Kasper Nielsen, of auction house Bruun Rasmussen, told Ekstra Bladet newspaper that Krøyer’s picture was worth millions of Danish crowns. “It is a piece of Danish history - both the architectural and the artworks”, he said. “If the entire Stock Exchange – God forbid – burns down, then we are looking at the loss of top-end, inalienable cultural heritage”
The painting is not the only piece of art of high value inside the Stock Exchange building. Nielsen told Ekstra Bladet that the total value of the collection amounted to hundreds of millions of Danish crowns.
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Tobias, a reader, writes in: “I witnessed the very first moments of the fire at Børsen this morning.”
I cycled past the Børsen building with my kids on the way to school this morning at around 7:30 am. We heard the fire alarm going off in the building, but there was no smoke yet. Just a few moments later the first fire engines came rushing round the corner of Christiansborg Palace towards Børsen.
The main Copenhagen fire station is quite close so they were on the scene really fast. But only fifteen minutes later after I had dropped my kids off at school the fire was already huge and smoke was hanging over the city. The building didn’t stand a chance it seems. Everyone at work is quite upset today. It really is an iconic building for Copenhageners.
Here are more images from Copenhagen this morning.
The scaffolding around the Old Stock Exchange building made it harder for the emergency services to get through to the flames, while the copper roof was preserving the heat, the Copenhagen fire department said, Reuters reported.
The nearby finance ministry was evacuated.
Here’s more footage of the fire.
Her faldet spiret af Børsen i København under voldsom brand den 16.04.2024. Se mere på https://t.co/ocJf7fskzf pic.twitter.com/3bfHCrcPzW
— Presse-fotos.dk (@pressefotosdk) April 16, 2024
A huge fire has broken out at Copenhagen’s 17th-century former stock exchange, one of the Danish capital’s most famous landmarks, engulfing the historic building’s roof and toppling its distinctive spire.
People were seen rushing in and out of the building carrying works of art to safety and Danish media reported an annexe of the parliament had been evacuated. Police asked people to avoid driving in the inner part of the city.
Read the story here.
Anette, a reader in Denmark, writes in: “I woke up to the sad news of our beautiful renaissance stock exchange on fire. My favourite building in Copenhagen… It’s very emotional to many of us Danes. So terribly catastrophic.”
Another reader, Stine, writes: “An incredibly sad day! All over Copenhagen smoke can be seen.”
Updated
Simon, a reader, has sent in a photo of people carrying a painting in Copenhagen, after the Old Stock Exchange caught fire.
Lara, a Brit who’s lived in Copenhagen for over 20 years, said she came out of the metro and saw the fire. “Absolutely heartbreaking. 400 years of history disappearing before your eyes,” she said.
She sent a photo:
If you’re in Copenhagen, send your thoughts and comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
“Our own Notre Dame moment,” said Denmark’s deputy prime minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, describing today’s fire.
Frygtelige billeder fra Børsen. Så trist. En ikonisk bygning, der betyder meget for os alle, tror jeg. Vores eget Notre Dame-øjeblik. pic.twitter.com/X0jWjfUFVc
— Troels Lund Poulsen (@troelslundp) April 16, 2024
400 years of Danish cultural heritage in flames, wrote the country’s culture minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, adding that it is touching to see employees, emergency services, and passers-by working together to save art treasures and iconic images form the burning building.
Hvor er det rørende at opleve, hvordan de ansatte på Børsen, gode folk fra beredskabet og forbipasserende københavnere samarbejder om at redde kunstskatte og ikoniske billeder ud af den brændende bygning.
— Jakob Engel-Schmidt (@engelschmidt) April 16, 2024
Berlingske has published footage of the fire
Børsen i København er i flammer.
— Berlingske (@berlingske) April 16, 2024
Følg udviklingen her: https://t.co/KUXg6JjCZP pic.twitter.com/jdSlhvKLwi
Der lød et stort brag, og Børsens ikoniske spir er nu kollapset.
— Berlingske (@berlingske) April 16, 2024
Følg udviklingen her: https://t.co/tyu36Qnt6W pic.twitter.com/Od2nlxsamk
Updated
Here are the latest images from Copenhagen.
Fire breaks out at Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange
A fire has broken out at Copenhagen’s iconic Old Stock Exchange, engulfing its spire, which has collapsed.
“We are met with a terrible sight. The Bourse is on fire. Everyone is asked to stay away,” the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which uses the building as its headquarters, wrote on social media. At this stage there are no reports of any injuries.
Vi er mødt ind til et forfærdeligt syn. Børsen brænder. Alle bedes holde sig væk fra området omkring Slotsholmen. Brandmyndighederne er på stedet. Vi vender tilbage, når der er flere oplysninger.
— Dansk Erhverv (@DanskErhverv) April 16, 2024
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