A huge fire has broken out at Copenhagen’s 17th-century former stock exchange, one of the Danish capital’s most famous landmarks, engulfing the historic building’s roof and toppling its distinctive spire.

“We are witnessing a terrible spectacle. The Bourse is on fire,” the Chamber of Commerce, which occupies the building next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish parliament, wrote on X. “Everyone is asked to stay away.”

Dramatic footage shows huge plumes of black smoke rising from the Dutch Renaissance-style building, which was undergoing renovation and clad in scaffolding. Police said they had blocked off a main road and part of the city centre.

Copenhagen’s fire service said the blaze was reported at 7.30am. The extensive scaffolding around the building was making it harder to tackle the flames, it said, while the Bourse’s copper roof was preserving the heat.

“The extinguishing work is very difficult,” said a fire service spokesperson, Jakob Vedsted Andersen, adding that there were parts of the building that firefighters could not access because it was too dangerous.

The deputy prime minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, described the fire as “our own Notre Dame moment”, referring to the devastating blaze that destroyed the roof and spire of the medieval Paris cathedral in April 2019, five years ago almost to the day.

Denmark’s culture minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, said on X that 400 years of Danish cultural heritage were in flames. It was “touching to see Bourse staff, emergency services and passing Copenhageners collaborate to save art treasures”, he said.

The Bourse, commissioned by King Christian IV and built between 1619 and 1640, features a 56-metre (184ft) spire in the shape of the tails of four dragons entwined. It housed Denmark’s stock exchange until the 1970s.

View image in fullscreen

People were seen rushing in and out of the building carrying works of art to safety, and Danish media reported an annexe of the parliament and several ministries nearby, including the finance ministry, had been evacuated.

The head of the Danish Chamber of Commerce was among those helping to carry paintings out of the building. “It is a national disaster,” Brian Mikkelsen told reporters at the scene.

Christiansborg Palace has burned down several times. Most recently, a fire broke out in an annex of the parliament known as Proviantgården in 1990. Police asked people to avoid driving in the inner part of the city.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Investigators believe the massive blaze at Notre Dame – which was also being renovated at the time – was caused by either a cigarette end or an electrical short circuit.

Most of the cathedral’s lead-clad timber roof was destroyed but the vaulted stone ceiling prevented massive interior damage and allowed priceless relics and artwork to be rescued. Notre Dame is due to reopen in December 2024.

• Denmark
• Europe
• Architecture
• Heritage
• news