COPENHAGEN, Denmark—On Tuesday, while pedestrians scrambled to assist emergency services in saving priceless paintings and other treasures, a fire burned through one of Copenhagen's oldest buildings, forcing the famous spire from the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange to fall.
One guy hopped off his bicycle on his way to work to help in the endeavor, and Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt called it "touching" to see how many individuals volunteered their hand "to save art treasures and iconic images from the burning building."
Chief Brian Mikkelsen of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which has its headquarters in the Old Stock Exchange, was observed leafing through a binder containing pictures of artworks that needed to be preserved along with members of his staff. They were taken around the corner from the blazing building to the Danish National Archives and the neighboring parliament.
“We have been able to rescue a lot,” a visibly moved Mr. Mikkelsen told reporters. “It is a national disaster.”
He said that they had to use equipment like a crowbar to extract paintings and other items that were being saved from the flames.
According to firemen spokesperson Jakob Vedsted Andersen, the fire started in the copper roof of the Old Stock Exchange, or Boersen, on Tuesday morning, spread to a large portion of the building and the roof, which also fell, and devastated the inside of the structure.
Mr. Vedsted Andersen stated, "The fire is still not under control," and mentioned that half of the structure had collapsed and been destroyed. There was little chance, he claimed, that the fire would spread to neighboring structures. According to firefighters, they plan to stay at the location for the next day.
Police in Copenhagen, Tommy Laursen, stated that they will be able to access the building in "a few days" and that it was too soon to determine what started the fire.
Numerous artworks are displayed in the gilded hall of the Old Stock Exchange, which is used for gala dinners, conferences, parties, and other occasions. It was seen that firefighters, using a nearby canal as a source of water, were shooting water through the entryway of the hall.
The structure, which is near to the parliament building, Christiansborg Palace, is a well-liked tourist destination that has been captured in millions of photos. At a height of 56 meters (184 feet), its unique spire had the form of four dragons' tails twined together.
Residents of Copenhagen's downtown were spotted running into the building to preserve artworks as massive clouds of smoke soared above the city. Separated by a short river, the plume was visible from southern Sweden.
Although there were ambulances on the site, no casualties were reported. According to a representative of the renovation firm, all of the carpenters who worked on the roof have left.
In order to surround the location and "secure valuables," up to ninety soldiers from a neighboring base were also sent to Denmark, according to the country's military authorities.
"They woke up to a sad sight" of "an important part of our architectural heritage" being destroyed by the fire, King Frederik said on Instagram.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wrote that “irreplaceable cultural heritage” and ”a piece of Danish history is on fire.”
“It hurts to see,” Ms. Frederiksen wrote on Instagram.
Scaffolding that had surrounded the structure and the spire eventually fell due to the fire. Built in 1615 and regarded as Denmark's premier example of Dutch Renaissance architecture, Boersen's roof, brickwork, sandstone, and spire were reportedly undergoing renovations, according to the Chamber of Commerce, which occupied the structure following the departure of Copenhagen's stock exchange in 1974. The building is owned by the chamber.
There have been other fires at the nearby Christiansborg Palace, and the most recent one occurred in 1990 when Proviantgaarden, a Danish parliament annex, caught fire. The Old Stock Exchange, however, escaped unharmed.
As a precaution, many ministries in the street behind the burning building as well as the annex, which is located in the block behind the Old Stock Exchange, were evacuated.
A major route in Copenhagen has been closed, and residents should anticipate the area to be blocked off for some time, according to police on the social networking site X. Numerous bus routes were redirected, and the local media in Denmark reported severe traffic gridlock.
Due to the fire, Queen Margrethe, who turned 84 on Tuesday, reportedly tempered her festivities, according to broadcaster TV2. The former queen was supposed to be entertained by a band of the Royal Life Guard outside Fredensborg Castle, where she is spending the spring and summer, but that performance had been postponed.
