Denmark’s 17th Century Børsen, one of the capital city’s oldest buildings, lost its spire in a fire that devastated the iconic building yesterday.
The BBC reports that culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said 400 years of Danish cultural heritage had gone up in flames.
Everyone inside the building was able to leave and people rushed to rescue some of its historic paintings.
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.
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.
[Image: JD Lasica from Pleasanton, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76158139]