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The previous inventory change constructing in downtown Copenhagen — one of many metropolis’s oldest buildings, identified for its elaborate spire of intertwined dragon tails — partly collapsed in a big fireplace early Tuesday.
Nobody was injured, in accordance with an announcement from King Frederik X. Photos and video from social media confirmed flames on the construction’s roof and darkish clouds of smoke lingering over the town.
It was not instantly clear what prompted the fireplace. As of early Tuesday afternoon, the blaze was nonetheless burning with “pockets of fireside” within the constructing, an official with the Copenhagen fireplace division mentioned.
The king mentioned that the constructing’s famed spire had helped outline Copenhagen as a “metropolis of towers.”
“Till right this moment, we have now regarded the historic constructing as a phenomenal image of our capital and a constructing that we, as a nation, have been happy with,” he mentioned.
The authorities responded to the fireplace simply after 7:30 a.m., officers mentioned in a information convention on Tuesday. Round 200 individuals have been concerned in preventing the fireplace.
“It’s nonetheless troublesome to work in massive components of the constructing,” mentioned Jakob Vedsted Andersen, the manager director of the Larger Copenhagen Fireplace Division. “The whole construction has collapsed inside, so there are pockets of fireside. Nonetheless, there’s no hazard of the fireplace spreading to different buildings.”
It should take days for the authorities to piece collectively what prompted certainly one of Denmark’s most prized buildings to go up in flames.
Jakob Engel-Schmidt, Denmark’s tradition minister, mentioned in an interview early Tuesday that it was “dreadful” to see the constructing in flames. “The constructing represents over 400 years of Danish historical past,” he mentioned, utilizing “Borsen,” the Danish identify for the constructing. “It’s one of many final buildings on this planet in Dutch Renaissance type, the place commerce has been performed all through the whole interval.”
Amid the chaos, the police in Copenhagen mentioned on social media that they’d evacuated a number of surrounding buildings, and urged individuals to keep away from the world.
The previous inventory change constructing, a Seventeenth-century construction that was as soon as the monetary heart of Denmark, additionally housed a number of historic work and different artifacts. Metropolis officers rushed the valued items out of the constructing after the fireplace broke out. On the time of the fireplace, the constructing was occupied by Dansk Erhverv, a enterprise group.
One of many bigger works carried to security was Peder Severin Kroyer’s “From Copenhagen Inventory Trade,” in accordance with an area information outlet. The work, which was painted in 1895 and depicts a number of key Danish monetary figures, is greater than 13 toes lengthy. It took six individuals to take away it to security.
Denmark’s Nationwide Museum mentioned on social media that it had despatched dozens of employees to the constructing to take away cultural objects and assess the harm of others earlier than safely stowing them away.
Mr. Engel-Schmidt mentioned the previous inventory change’s artworks “inform us one thing about ourselves as a nation and as a individuals.” He added that the constructing had been the backdrop of numerous historic occasions, and that it was ingrained within the Danish psyche.
“That’s why there are individuals standing within the streets, trying extremely unhappy,” he mentioned. “It impacts me, too.”
A number of different officers lamented the fireplace, together with Jan Jorgensen, a member of Parliament for the Liberal Celebration, who known as for the previous inventory change to be rebuilt. “In all probability probably the most iconic constructing in Copenhagen,” he mentioned on social media. “All forces should be united to have this previous, stunning home rebuilt in all its energy and splendor.”
The constructing was constructed on the course of King Christian IV, who had acknowledged the significance of commerce and commerce, in accordance with the Go to Copenhagen tourism web site. The unique construction contained a minimum of 40 market stalls and was surrounded by water on three sides to assist ships simply unload their cargo.
As fireplace crews fought the flames on Tuesday, dozens of onlookers quietly stood on the road, watching in shock, together with Celeste Bolvinkil Andersen, who mentioned she had woken up when she heard her roommate shouting concerning the fireplace.
“It feels a bit like changing into a firsthand witness to historical past,” she mentioned. “I can’t assist however sit right here deeply, deeply dissatisfied in myself, for not having gone inside and seen the Borsen from the within. And now it’s utterly gone.”
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