Copenhagen caught fire, and the stock exchange tower collapsed

A fire broke out in one of Copenhagen's oldest buildings on Tuesday, causing the famous tower of the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange to collapse, as passers-by rushed to help emergency services rescue priceless paintings and other valuables.

Danish Culture Minister Jacob Engel-Schmidt said it was “touching” to see how many people reached out to “rescue artistic treasures and iconic images from the burning building.” A man jumped off his bike on his way to work to help in the effort.

Brian Mikkelsen, president of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, whose headquarters are in the old stock exchange, and his staff were seen leafing through a folder containing photos of the paintings to be preserved. They were taken to the nearby Parliament and the Danish National Archives, near the burning building.

“It is a national disaster,” Mikkelsen told reporters.

Firefighter spokesman Jacob Vedsted Andersen said that the fire started on Tuesday morning in the copper roof of the old stock exchange, or “Borsen,” and extended to a large part of the building and the roof, and parts of it also collapsed, destroying the interior of the building.

Firefighters, who were reportedly pumping water from a nearby canal, were seen spraying water through the entrance to the gilded hall of the Old Stock Exchange used for dinners, conferences, parties and other events, where many paintings were hung.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

The building, which is located next to Christiansborg Palace where Parliament is located, is a popular tourist attraction and has been photographed millions of times. Its distinctive tower, shaped like the intertwined tails of four dragons, is 56 meters (184 feet) high.

Huge clouds of smoke rose over downtown Copenhagen and people were seen rushing inside the building to rescue the paintings. The column can be seen from southern Sweden, which is separated by a narrow waterway.

Ambulances rushed to the scene, but no injuries were reported. A spokesman for the company working to restore the building said that the carpenters who were working on the roof had all left.

The Danish Armed Forces said up to 90 members of the army unit were also deployed from a nearby base to cordon off the area and secure valuables.

King Frederik wrote on Instagram that they “woke up to a sad sight” of the destruction of “an important part of our architectural heritage” by fire.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wrote that the “irreplaceable cultural heritage” and “a piece of Danish history are burning.”

“It hurts to see this,” Frederiksen wrote on Instagram.

The building and tower were covered in scaffolding, which later collapsed in the fire. The Chamber of Commerce, which moved into the building after leaving the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 1974, said the roof, masonry, sandstone and Børsen Tower – built in 1615 and considered a leading example of the Dutch Renaissance style in Denmark – are being renovated.

The nearby Christiansborg Palace has burned down on several occasions, most recently in 1990, when a fire broke out in an annex of the Danish Parliament, known as Profiantgarden. However, the old stock exchange survived unscathed.

This annex, which is located in the building behind the old stock exchange, was evacuated as a precaution, and the various ministries in the street behind the burning building were evacuated.

Police said on social media platform X that the main road in Copenhagen was closed and people should expect the area to be cordoned off for some time. Several bus routes were rerouted, and Danish media reported major traffic jams in the surrounding area.