A massive fire erupted at Copenhagen’s Old Stock Exchange, sending shockwaves around Denmark.

The historic building, dating to 1625, is one of Copenhagen’s oldest buildings.

“It’s horrible. It was one of the city’s most beautiful buildings. I pass by here every day It’s Notre Dame all over again,” one witness said, according to Daily Mail.

“A fire hit Copenhagen’s Old Stock Exchange, one of the most iconic buildings in the city, engulfing its spire which then collapsed onto the roof. There were no reports of injuries,” Reuters reports.

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Per Daily Mail:

A large police and firefighting presence remains on the scene around the Børsen building, where scaffolding is seen to have collapsed into the inferno. Authorities say the blaze is too risky to tackle from the inside, and that they are trying to limit the damage by closing off what they can.

Surrounding streets in the Danish capital have also been cordoned off and commuters urged to avoid the inner city as authorities desperately try to tackle the fire, with the military drawn in to help manage public safety.

Crowds gathered in disbelief to look on as the building appeared to collapse in on itself. The Børsen, once the financial heart of Denmark, dates back as far as 1625 and contains many precious relics of the country’s proud merchant history.

Jakob Engel-Schmidt, Danish Culture Minister, said that 400 years of cultural heritage had gone up in flames as artifacts were hurried out of the fire.

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BBC reports:

Members of the public rushed to rescue historic paintings and it took hours before the fire was under control.

The building, dating back to 1625, is a stone’s throw from Denmark’s parliament, the Folketing, housed in the old royal palace of Christiansborg castle. Danish media said the nearby square was being evacuated and the main entrance to Christiansborg was closed because of smoke.

The old stock exchange was being renovated and had been shrouded in scaffolding and protective plastic covering.

It currently houses the Danish chamber of commerce, which described the scenes on Tuesday morning as a terrible sight. Its director, Brian Mikkelsen, said as much as half of the old stock exchange had burned down but vowed that it would be rebuilt “no matter what”.

Local craftsman Henrik Grage told Danish TV that it was a tragic day. “This is our Notre-Dame,” he said, comparing it with the fire that engulfed the roof and spire of the cathedral in the centre of Paris almost exactly five years ago.

The Paris fire broke out under the eaves of Notre-Dame on 15 April 2019 when it was also shrouded in scaffolding as part of extensive renovations. Investigators have blamed either a short circuit in the electrics or a worker’s cigarette butt that was not properly put out.

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