Copenhagen's historic Stock Exchange destroyed by fire
A fire at the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange in Copenhagen on Tuesday night has destroyed one of the oldest and most striking buildings in the Danish capital. In a post on X, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen described the fire as "our Notre Dame moment". The reactions in the Danish press reflect how shocked the country is.
What a catastrophe
Politiken explains the significance of the building:
“The Old Stock Exchange was not only Denmark's first market hall but with the establishment of the postal service and the first bookshop also a centre that promoted the development of civilisation and cultivation in our country. It's clear that this is an architectural and cultural-historical catastrophe. Fortunately, thanks to the quick intervention of passers-by and employees of Dansk Erhverv [the Danish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which owns the building], most of the art collection and historical artefacts from the times of Christian IV were saved from the flames. Europe has lost one of its oldest commodity exchanges - and Denmark has lost part of its self-image.”
Mourn today, rebuild tomorrow
For Berlingske it's clear that the building must be rebuilt, as Notre-Dame was in Paris:
“The reconstruction of the stock exchange and its spire is a national task. ... The aim must be to recreate the spire as closely as possible to the original. We will need to bring together the country's most talented architects and make difficult decisions about how to restore the interior of the stock exchange building to its 400-year-old origins. Today we weep over the loss of the old Christian IV Stock Exchange. Tomorrow, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dansk Erhverv will begin the reconstruction.”