“Terrible pictures from the Stock Exchange this morning,” tweeted Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt. “400 years of Danish cultural heritage in flames.”
The fire was first reported at 7:30 a.m. Copenhagen fire department head Jakob Vedsted Andersen told reporters that the blaze, which began in the building’s copper roof, had spread to several floors of the building.
“The extinguishing work is very difficult,” said Vedsted Andersen, adding that parts of the building were unreachable because it was too dangerous.
The incident was Denmark’s “Notre Dame moment,” Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen wrote on X, recalling the images of the burning Paris cathedral that was severely damaged five years ago.
The cause of the fire was not initially clear. The Dutch Renaissance-style building, completed in 1625, is currently covered in scaffolding for renovations.
