A massive fire engulfed the former Copenhagen Stock Exchange building on Tuesday, prompting people to save artifacts and paintings as the structure collapsed from the blaze.
Videos released from the scene showed the fire spinning the distinctive 56-metre-high tower, causing it to fall to the ground, one of the oldest buildings in Denmark.
According to Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt, 400 years of Danish cultural heritage have been burned.
Local media reported that the nearby square was evacuated.
The submerged building dates back to 1625 and is close to the Danish Parliament, the Folketing, which is located in the royal palace of Christiansborg Castle.
The old Copenhagen Stock Exchange building was undergoing renovation.
The old stock exchange was being renovated and was under a plastic cover to protect it.
A local craftsman, Henrik Grage, was quoted in the bbc It was a tragic day.
“This is our Notre Dame,” he said, comparing it to the fire that burned the roof and spire of the Paris cathedral on April 5, 2019.
Authorities in the area are investigating the cause of the fire, but first responders said the operation was complicated by scaffolding.
The fire was so powerful that it severely damaged the building.
Emergency services chief Jakob Vedsted Andersen said firefighters faced an almost impossible task in accessing the area under the old copper roof.
Local museum inspector Benjamin Asmussen told Denmark's TV2 that the fire was difficult to observe as the stock exchange was filled with paintings about Danes who had been important to Danish history since the 17th century.
The Slotsholmen building was commissioned by King Christian IV of Denmark to become the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.
