The fire is not under control at 10 o’clock on Tuesday, Jakob Vedsted Andersen from the fire and rescue service Hovedstadens Beredskap informs.
He goes on to say that roughly half the building is on fire.
Parts of the building are completely engulfed in flames, says Andersen.
– That is why it is simply too dangerous to get our men in, he says.
Shortly after 8 o’clock in the morning, the building’s spire was completely surrounded by smoke and heavy flames. At approximately 8.30 am, the spire had collapsed, photos from the scene show.
Demanding
The extinguishing work is demanding, reports Hovedstadens Beredskap.
– It is an old building with many wooden structures and a copper roof that keeps the heat in. So it is a very, very extensive effort that will last most of the day, Andersen tells several Danish media.
The spire of the Børsen building in Copenhagen is in flames. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard / Ritzau Scanpix / NTB Show more
TV images also show that the historic painting “From the Copenhagen Stock Exchange” by PS Krøyer was carried out of the burning building.
The painting is one of the Skagen painter’s most famous works and is two and a half meters high and four meters wide. It was painted in 1895 and is a group portrait of a number of stock exchange people standing in the Stock Exchange Hall inside the burning building.
Restoration
The house was being restored, and scaffolding has been installed along the walls. The restoration was supposed to rectify an inappropriate renovation from the 19th century and bring the building’s facade back to its original expression, says the AP Møller Foundation’s website.
It is not yet clear what caused the fire.
The characteristic, long brick building was in earlier times a commodity exchange and was completed with the high spire in 1625. It is used today as an office building. The house is one of Copenhagen’s oldest.
The spire, called the “Dragon Spire”, is what Børsen is best known for. It is designed as four dragon tails that twist around each other. The spire has three crowns on top which symbolized the great kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
– Extensive damage
– Terrible pictures from Børsen this morning. 400 years of Danish cultural heritage in flames, Denmark’s Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt signs X/Twitter.
According to him, passers-by help carry cultural treasures out of Børsen, among them several paintings.
There is a fire in the Børsen building in Copenhagen. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard / Ritzau Scanpix / NTB Show more
– There is extensive damage to Børsen. Part of the building is untouched, but there is a large part that has been affected, the police team leader tells DR.
Blocked off
Several surrounding buildings have been evacuated, the police report, and all reserve personnel in the fire service have been called in.
The police report that they are “extensively” present in inner Copenhagen. The city’s rescue service, Hovedstadens Beredskab, writes in a message on X/Twitter that they made a “massive” call to Slotsholmsgade after reports of smoke coming from a roof.
An area around Børsen was blocked off on Tuesday morning, and barriers were also set up at Knippelsbro and Christiansborg Slotsplads.
– We expect that the area will be cordoned off for a longer period of time. We encourage road users to find other routes, the police write in a message on X.
(©NTB)