Huge fire rages through Old Stock Exchange building in Copenhagen

A blaze has ripped through the 17th Century Old Stock Exchange in Copenhagen. The building is one of the city’s oldest in the city and houses the Chamber of Commerce and used as a meeting venue. Although people tried to remove much of the art work inside the building, Denmark’s culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said 400 years of Danish cultural heritage had gone up in flames. The old spire crashed to the ground as the flames took hold of the main tower on Tuesday morning (16 April). The Old Stock Exchange was being renovated and its spire, where the fire is thought to have started, had been covered in scaffolding. One bystander interviewed by the BBC said: “This is our Notre-Dame,” comparing it with the fire that destroyed the cathedral in the centre of Paris in 2019. Notre-Dame had also been covered in scaffolding at the time. Kit Lykketoft, director of Copenhagen Convention Bureau, told CMW: “Today is an incredibly sad day for Copenhagen. Børsen, the city’s beloved and iconic Stock Exchange Building, has been engulfed by fire since this morning. Home to the Danish Chamber of Commerce and a popular meeting venue, Børsen was under renovation and due to celebrate its 400th anniversary this year. “We’re devastated to see 400 years of Danish heritage go up in flames and only comforted by the fact that no lives were lost. “We’ll continue to follow the developments closely.” The cause of the fire in Copenhagen is for the moment unknown as emergency services are on the scene.