Among the oldest structures in the city, the 17th-century Børsen stunned witnesses as its recognizable dragon spire fell onto the street below.
Jakob Engel-Schmidt, the minister of culture, declared that 400 years of Danish cultural legacy had been destroyed.
The crowd hurried to save the historical artworks, but it took hours for the fire to be contained.
The structure, which dates back to 1625, is located not far from the Folketing, Denmark’s parliament, which is housed in the former Christiansborg castle royal residence. According to Danish media, smoke had forced the closure of Christiansborg’s main gate and the evacuation of a nearby area.
The historic stock exchange was undergoing renovations and was covered in protective plastic and scaffolding.
At the moment, it houses the Danish chamber of commerce, which called Tuesday morning’s events a horrifying sight. Up to half of the historic stock market burned down, according to its director, Brian Mikkelsen, but he swore it would be restored “no matter what”.
Henrik Grage, a local tradesman, told Danish TV that the day was awful. “This is our Notre-Dame,” he remarked, drawing parallels between it and the fire that nearly precisely five years ago destroyed the cathedral’s spire and roof in the heart of Paris.
In April 2019, as Notre-Dame was likewise covered in scaffolding for major restorations, the Paris fire started beneath its eaves. Both a worker’s cigarette butt and an electrical short circuit have been attributed by investigators.
