Denmark’s ‘Cultural Heritage in Flames’ After Huge Fire Rips Through Copenhagen's 400-Year-Old Stock Exchange

Gabrielle Rockson
Tue, April 16, 2024

Everyone inside was reportedly evacuated and some of the historic paintings were rescued



IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesCopenhagen's Stock Exchange building, in Copenhagen, on April 16, 2024

Denmark’s 400-year-old stock exchange has been engulfed by fire.

In a statement on the tourism website, Visit Copenhagen, Danish Tourist Offices confirmed on April 16 that the cause of the fire is currently unknown.

“Update 16th of April, 2024: This page will not be updated with news in regard to the devastating fire. The page will be changed when the full extent of the fire is known,” the statement read of the historic building, which was built in 1625 and is one of Copenhagen’s oldest structures.

According to the BBC, Culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said that 400 years of Danish cultural heritage had gone up in flames.

Meanwhile, the outlet reports that everyone inside was evacuated and some of the historic paintings were rescued.



IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesCopenhagen's Stock Exchange building, in Copenhagen, on April 16, 2024

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Videos shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), featured the building going up in flames before clouds of smoke entered the atmosphere.



Ida Marie Odgaard/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockDenmark's 400-year-old stock exchange on fire

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Per the BBC, emergency services revealed that the majority of the building has been damaged, with most damage taking place around the tower.



IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesPolice cars park as flames engulf the Copenhagen's Stock Exchange building on April 16, 2024

It’s reported that emergency services, as well as chamber of commerce director Brian Mikkelsen, were helped by members of the public in saving some of the building’s art.

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Per the BBC, Local craftsman Henrik Grage told Danish TV that Copenhagen’s fire was "our Notre-Dame," in reference to the fire that burnt the cathedral in Paris in 2019.



IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesFormer Danish Minister of Culture and current CEO of Danish Business (Dansk Erhverv), Brian Mikkelsen (Left) assists with the evacuation of paintings from Denmark's stock exchange

The outlet adds that fire department chief Jakob Vedsted Andersen said responders dealt with an almost impossible task in trying to access the area under the old copper roof. A witness also reportedly told Danish media, "I'm completely speechless — this is an unparalleled tragedy.”

"This morning, we woke up to a sad sight, as smoke over the roofs of Copenhagen gave evidence of the destructive fire at Børsen," Frederik X, the king of Denmark, said in a statement per CBS News. "An important part of our architectural cultural heritage was and continues to be in flames."

"Until today, we have considered the historic building as a beautiful symbol of our capital and a structure that we, as a nation, have been proud of,” he added.


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