400-year-old building in flames: "Is eerie"

Fires

The Danish Stock Exchange is on fire

Noam Bertling,

Knut Sahlin Ekberg

Updated 09.40 | Published 08.17

A black cloud of smoke is spreading over Copenhagen.

The historic Stock Exchange is on fire - the emergency services, healthcare and the police are on the scene.

Police are urging people to stay away from the area.

Just before eight o'clock, the Copenhagen police received an alarm about the fire. They are now on site with several units from healthcare and emergency services, reports Ekstrabladet.

- It's a very eerie atmosphere, everyone is quite quiet. People are shocked, says Swedish Micaela Gosenda, who was out walking her dog when she ended up near the fire.

 

Iconic spire close to collapse. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard / TT News Agency

Distinct spire has collapsed

The building is one of Köpenhamn's oldest buildings, almost 400 years old, and is located on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen. On the roof it has a distinctive rotating spire, which has collapsed as a result of the fire.

- It is still burning, even though it has started to subside a little, says Swedish Micaela Gosenda.

The stock exchange is located right in the center of Copenhagen

No personal injuries

The newspaper also writes that "a sea of people are trying to save the iconic and valuable objects that are usually inside the Stock Exchange".

- There are no personal injuries. There is extensive damage to Børsen, says Jakob Vedsted Andersen, who is emergency manager at Copenhagen's emergency department, to DR, Ekstrabladet reports.

The Copenhagen police have closed parts of the traffic. They are urging people to stay away from the area, says X. They are also evacuating buildings from the Ministry of Finance.

 

Enrich the building in flames. Photo: Mathias Sørsensen / TT News Agency

Reserve firefighters called

The emergency services are on site with many units. On X, Emergency Preparedness Öst writes that they send units from several stations outside Copenhagen to the fire. All reserve firefighters are also called up.

Seen from Malmö

Television images from a broadcast outside the stock exchange show how the artwork "Copenhagen Stock Exchange" from 1895 is saved from the flames and carried out of the building, Danish TV2 reports.

The smoke is visible from Malmö.

- I can see the smoke from my balcony, it's a big cloud of smoke blowing south, says Jonas Ekström Tegner, who lives in Malmö.

            

         

          The smoke can be seen all the way to Malmö.
            1 / 2Photo: Reader picture

   

Art and valuable objects are carried out of burning buildings.

           

           

          Art and valuable objects are carried out of burning buildings.
          1 / 2Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard / TT News Agency

                  

          Roadblocks in Copenhagen. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard / TT News Agency

         
         The Stock Exchange before the fire. Photo: Wikipedia

FACTS

Børsen – The Stock Exchange House in Copenhagen

The stock exchange was built in 1625 and is one of the oldest buildings in Copenhagen.

The building functioned as a commodity exchange until the 19th century and included the Copenhagen Stock Exchange until 1974.

Today, the building is being renovated.

The building is considered one of the finest examples of the Dutch Renaissance in Denmark.

Børsen is owned by the Chamber of Commerce Dansk Erhverv – one of Denmark's largest business and employer organisations. 

Source: Visit Copenhagen.