Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange and Spire were burned

One of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings, the Old Stock Exchange, was ravaged by a massive fire on April 16 that destroyed much of the 400-year-old building, including its iconic spire, a fairytale element in shape of four intertwined dragon tails.

No one was injured in the fire, which broke out early in the morning and was still burning 24 hours later. various media reported. The fire destroyed about half of the historic building, according to the BBCbut as of press time, its cause remains unknown.

The disaster stunned residents of Copenhagen, where the building known locally as Brsen was valued for its historical significance and as a proud symbol of Danish heritage. Dating from 1625It was built by order of King Christian IV in the Dutch Renaissance style, with a trio of crowns atop the spire symbolizing the Scandinavian empire of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

I woke up to my WhatsApp feed going crazy, with everyone sharing their own photos, says Brooke Black, a public relations director who lives near downtown Copenhagen. For the Danes, it's a shock. They feel great pride in a key building in their landscape. Everyone was talking about it, and everyone couldn't really believe it.

Police opened an investigation into the incident on Wednesday, according to several media reports. including Reuters. Early but unconfirmed speculation was that the fire may have broken out in an area undergoing extensive renovations, a fire official told reporters.

City officials have already publicly committed to rebuilding the beloved landmark, while expressing sadness and disbelief over the tragedy.

Terrible images from inside the Stock Exchange, according to the director of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, Brian Mikkelsen written the. It's completely unbearable. Our magnificent building is covered in black ash and water. I can not believe it.

But Mikkelsen also reiterated his promise to rebuild the old Stock Exchange no matter what.

The works of art were saved

The building housed the Danish Stock Exchange until the 1970s, then served as the headquarters of the Danish Chamber of Commerce. It is also a popular tourist attraction, but was listed as temporarily closed on Google following the fire.

As the fire broke out on Tuesday, news footage and social media accounts showed a chaotic scene of huge plumes of black smoke billowing from the building, which was being renovated and surrounded by scaffolding. Black said the charred building was still smoking Thursday morning and smelled of burning wood and chemicals.

Some observers have noted strange similarities with the devastating fire that broke out at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which occurred on April 15, 2019, almost five years to the day before the fire at the Vieille Bourse. Like Brsen, Notre-Dame was also undergoing renovation at the time of the outbreak, and its distinct spire also collapsed in the fire.

OnDanish Deputy Prime Minister Troels Lund Poulsen described the Brsen fire as our own moment at Notre Dame.

A bright spot in the disaster: some historic paintings of the buildings and others the works of art were saved by workers and spectators.

The Danish Minister of Culture, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, written the how touching it was to see staff, emergency services personnel and bystanders working together to save artistic treasures and iconic images from the burning building.

Reborn from the ashes

According to Visit Copenhagen, the city's tourism organization, local legend has it that the dragon-tailed spire was meant to protect the building from fire and enemy attacks. Over the years, it had been somehow spared when fires damaged neighboring buildings.

However, local authorities have vowed that the iconic tails will one day rise into the capital's skyline again.