Although confirmed, half of the stock market's walls had collapsed, a fire department spokesman said Thursday afternoon. Hours earlier, emergency services tried to save the walls by placing containers of concrete blocks attached to scaffolding around the building after a devastating fire at the old stock exchange in Copenhagen.
It was not initially known whether people were injured in the accident. Built over 400 years ago, this building is a tourist attraction on the east end of the island of Slotsholmen in the Holmens Canal opposite the National Bank of Denmark. The fire was worst in the part of the building that was built for renovation work and was near Parliament. Due to the renovation work, the entire building was surrounded by scaffolding.
After the fire, only the outer walls of the affected side of the historic building remain. All rubble and other debris from the floor of the building must be cleared on Friday before emergency services can stabilize the walls from the inside, which would have been necessary to save them.
Artworks were recovered from the building
The old Stock Exchange, which is now the Danish Chamber of Commerce, houses, among other things, a large art collection. The building has not been used as a stock market in the true sense for a long time.
Numerous works of art were recovered from the burning building by firefighters and Chamber of Commerce staff. A press conference on Tuesday spoke of “several hundred” artefacts, including the famous painting “From the Copenhagen Stock Exchange” by painter PS Groyer.
It said on Wednesday that it could take a long time to assess the extent of the damage. Among other things, heavy sculptures and statues are still being recovered. Several works have also been identified under the roof of the unburnt stock market, a spokesman for the National Museum told Danish news agency Ritsa. “If we don't have any artifact catalogs, you have to go in and reconstruct everything based on photographs and other things.”
The top of the tower was undamaged
The intact top of the tower, which was completely destroyed, was presented to Brian Mikkelsen, president of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, on Wednesday. Mikkelsen called X “a little light in the darkness” on Twitter. A fragment of the dragon's peak survived the fire and the deep fall. “It gives me hope because it will beautify our beautiful workplace and Copenhagen again,” says Mikkelsen.
It was Christian IV's wish to have four dragons with twisted tails and a tower with four dragons built on the building, the town hall said on Tuesday. “Dragons must protect the stock market from enemies and fire, and they have succeeded – to date.”
Mikkelsen wrote of the fire at X on Tuesday: “It was a terrible day. A tragedy.” It was one of the saddest days of his life. “Years of history and art in flames. This is a tragedy not only for the Danish Chamber of Commerce, but also for Denmark as a nation.
