04/16/2024 – 10:09
The old 17th-century Copenhagen Stock Exchange building was destroyed by a massive fire on Tuesday (16), its symbolic needle collapsing in the flames and firefighters struggling to save the rest of the building.
The 54-metre-long needle in the building, commissioned by King Christian IV and built between 1619 and 1640, caught fire.
The building is one of the oldest buildings in Copenhagen and was undergoing restoration work. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
“It's our Notre Dame! It's a national treasure,” lamented Elisabeth Moltke, a 45-year-old city resident.
The fire started at 7:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Brasilia), emergency services reported and nearly 100 firefighters were mobilized.
Emergency services commander Jacob Fedsted Andersen said: “The facades are still standing, but they have begun to collapse due to the effects of the fire.” “We do our best to protect the facades, but we cannot give any guarantees.”
Vedsted Andersen explained to Ritzau that since the roof is made of copper, it is impossible to enter the building.
The building, close to the Danish Parliament, housed the headquarters of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange until the 1970s and is currently the headquarters of the Danish Chamber of Commerce.
The fire did not injure anyone and there is no danger of it spreading to other buildings.
The police isolated part of the center of the capital to assist firefighters in the process of fighting the flames.
The Chamber of Commerce said: “We are facing a terrible scenario.” Culture Minister Jacob Engel-Schmidt lamented that “400 years of heritage are being burned.”
The Bersen Tower, the world's oldest stock exchange, which was 56 meters high, collapsed in Copenhagen, Reuters.
The building is 400 years old. “It happened because of a fire.” pic.twitter.com/PBn1g2U35M
– Manuela Silva (@mariamanuelaCl1) April 16, 2024
