Denmark - Copenhagen's 17th century Old Stock Exchange burns down, no injuries reported, great cultural loss, 16 Apr 2024

[iamshadow21]

Video of the collapse was caught by a news crew who were filming live.

Børsen er kollapset

TV 2 giver dig overblik over de mest aktuelle nyheder og historier i samfundet lige nu - på under et minut.

tv2.dk

Looks like the main problem right now is the scaffolding, that may have been what caused this collapse. All efforts are to remove it as quickly and safely as possible.

 

[iamshadow21]

A Reuters article specifically about the rescue of the art, both during the fire and in the aftermath.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/centuries-old-artworks-saved-copenhagens-stock-exchange-blaze-2024-04-18/

Some items are damaged by fire, smoke, and water, others by hasty, inexpert removal. (I know I read that they were using crowbars to pry free items that were fastened down as the fire was spreading.)

I think that it's a huge challenge for conservation staff, but I don't think any would deny that an artwork rescued in damaged condition is better than one completely destroyed.

MOO

 

[iamshadow21]

This DM article has a bunch of pictures I had already seen, but a number I hadn't, including ones taken as the roof went up in flames by workers on the scaffold as they fled. We knew that at least one picture had been taken because of the statement of the mason a few days ago.

Builders caught in Copenhagen inferno describe terrifying moment

Authorities are scrambling to preserve artefacts of the city's rich history, and even passers-by were seen carrying large paintings away from the building in a race to save them from the flames.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[iamshadow21]

"We saved 99 percent of what was in there."

Brand i Børsen – få seneste nyt her | Berlingske

Børsens ydermur er væltet i den udbrændte del af bygningen – følg med her.

www.berlingske.dk

Brian Mikkelsen, CEO of the company that owns the Borsen, gives hope that a huge proportion of the cultural objects that could be carried out and saved from the building were in fact saved.

 

[LadyL]

"We saved 99 percent of what was in there."

Brand i Børsen – få seneste nyt her | Berlingske

Børsens ydermur er væltet i den udbrændte del af bygningen – følg med her.

www.berlingske.dk

Brian Mikkelsen, CEO of the company that owns the Borsen, gives hope that a huge proportion of the cultural objects that could be carried out and saved from the building were in fact saved.

that's amazing! great news

 

[airportwoman]

A slideshow on Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2024/photos-fire-breaks-out-denmark-stock-exchange-building/

There's a terrible, exquisite beauty in the photos of the spire aflame. I can mourn the loss of something lovely but at the same time feel that beauty deeply.

The firefighters parked next to the "Fear Nothing" billboard made for a very striking picture.

 

[airportwoman]

"You cannot reconstruct time."

- Man kan ikke rekonstruere tiden, siger bygningsekspert

Børsen i København brænder. Få seneste nyt om udviklingen her.

nyheder.tv2.dk

The building was constructed over time and in different stages - the dragon spire was actually a copy of the original, built in the eighteenth century - and they have excellent documentation to rebuild, but it will never be the 'old' building that was destroyed. That is lost.

That's true, but as with Notre Dame, they may try to replicate its construction as best they can.

There's a PBS "Nova" episode about the rebuilding of Notre Dame, and it's very interesting.

 

[iamshadow21]

The scaffolding has now been stabilised, according to officials. As it has been removed, they have discovered more of the facade intact than they thought had survived in the wall facing the canal, which collapsed a few days ago.

A further little miracle, from Brian Mikkelsen 's twitter. Brian is the CEO of the company that owns the Borsen. He has been very present in the media, and was one of the staff helping to save paintings from the fire at the beginning.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780495723714474372

(Google translate from the Berlingske feed)

"A little light in the darkness. This morning, one of the fantastic guys from the emergency services handed me the top of the iconic dragon spire, which had survived the flames and the long fall,' writes Brian Mikkelsen.

"It gave a glimmer of hope. Because it will once again adorn our beautiful workplace and Copenhagen.'

Børsen i København er i flammer – følg med direkte | Video | Berlingske

Store dele af Børsen i København er brændt ned og spirret er kollapset. Følg med her.

www.berlingske.dk

Also, more statues have been recovered, including one very important one.

Iconic statue on the Stock Exchange saved

Emergency services have succeeded in rescuing one of the most iconic statues from the stock exchange building on Slotsholmen. This is written by TV 2.

It concerns the statue of a woman that stood over the entrance to the Stock Exchange.

TV 2 brings an image of the heavily soot-blackened statue, which, judging from the image, appears to have lost its right forearm and left hand. It is not confirmed.

According to the TV station, the statue was spotted in the ruins of the largely burned out and collapsed stock exchange building.

With a crane, the statue was lifted up and out into the street, and it is now handed over to Dansk Erhverv.

 

[iamshadow21]

This Berlingske article is paywalled after a few paragraphs, but you can see their nifty animation of the building collapse at the top of the article for free.

Minut for minut: Følg brandens udvikling fra alarmen gik 7.36, til murene væltede 17.07

Læs mere her.

www.berlingske.dk

 

[iamshadow21]

"There was nothing to see. Moments later, the roof was in flames. 54 minutes sealed Borsen's fate."

Der var intet at se. Øjeblikket efter stod taget i flammer. 54 minutter beseglede Børsens skæbne | Berlingske

Branden på Børsen udviklede sig med voldsom hast. Da de første brandfolk ankom, var der intet at se. Oppe på taget forsøgte håndværkere at afgøre, om det var endnu en blind alarm. Så kom flammerne. Berlingske har i detaljer rekonstrueret, hvad der skete i den første afgørende time af branden på...

www.berlingske.dk

Also paywalled a little into the article.

 

[iamshadow21]

The stock market was in flames: Here is the story behind the iconic building.

Børsen stod i flammer: Her er historien bag den ikoniske bygning | Video | Berlingske

Børsbygningen blev i denne uge ramt af en stor brand, og pludselig gik 400 års historie op i røg. Vil du forstå, hvilken særlig rolle bygningen har haft, så se videoen her.

www.berlingske.dk

Video about the historical importance of the Borsen. It has subtitles, but both they and the audio are in Danish.

 

[iamshadow21]

Adorably, the enormous, heavy duty piece of kit making the removing of the scaffolding possible is called the Bumblebee. They're saying it's the biggest piece of construction equipment in Europe.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1781412364245402060

(Google translate from the Berlingske feed.)

"Humlebien" has arrived at Børsen
Distributed on seven large block wagons, "Humlebien" has arrived at Børsen.

The "bumble bee" is actually a large crane with a large pair of metal scissors at the end. When assembled, it weighs a whopping 200 tonnes, and road plates are laid out in the streets around Børsen to protect the asphalt.

The "Humlebien" will assist the work of cutting down the scaffolding around the Stock Exchange.

That's what Hovedstadens Beredsbad writes on X.

 

[iamshadow21]

Denmark endures Notre-Dame fire moment and vows to rebuild - BBC News

Danes recount watching in horror as the historic Borsen went up in flames.

www.bbc.com

 

[whinewiththegravy]

I think that it's a huge challenge for conservation staff, but I don't think any would deny that an artwork rescued in damaged condition is better than one completely destroyed.

Indeed.

In your link, a curator at the site cautions that the hasty removal might not have been performed as an “art expert” would, but so much of the preservation after fire and soot depends on doing very little, but very carefully, at the very beginning, particularly when it comes to paintings. Bundle them out with minimal contact on any worked surfaces; separate nothing that could possibly stick/tear; set works flat and upright somewhere clean and begin dehumidification; do not attempt to remove any glazing or framing; blot as needed and/or or apply filters between MicroChamber. Wait for cavalry/conservator techs to arrive.

 

[iamshadow21]

Denmark's king launches reconstruction of famed landmark badly damaged by fire

Denmark’s King Frederik has laid a foundation stone to launch the reconstruction of Copenhagen’s iconic Old Stock Exchange, which was partly destroyed by a fire in April that toppled its green copper roof and iconic dragon-tail spire.

apnews.com