Børsen

Børsen was planned by Christian IV as part of his plan to strengthen Copenhagen's role as a centre for trade and commerce in Northern Europe. A site on the north side of the embankment which connected Copenhagen to the new market town Christianshavn, which was planned on reclaimed land off the coast of Amager. The king charged Lorenz van Steenwinckel with the design of the new building, but Steenwinckel died shortly thereafter. The assignment was then passed on to his brother, Hans van Steenwinckel.{{cite web |url=http://english.borsbygningen.dk/hist.htm |title=The History |language=en |publisher=Børsbygningen |access-date=15 November 2016 |archive-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002101735/http://english.borsbygningen.dk/hist.htm |url-status=dead}}

The site first had to be prepared since the embankment had not yet stabilized. Construction of the building began in 1620 and was largely completed in 1624 with the exception of the spire (installed in 1625) and details of the east gable (completed in 1640).[http://www.borsbygningen.dk/hist.htm Børsbygningen.dk, ejet af Dansk Erhverv – The Danish Chamber of Commerce] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720053226/http://www.borsbygningen.dk/hist.htm |date=20 July 2018 }} hentet 8. maj 2021 The building contained 40 trading offices at the ground floor and one large room at the upper floor. The building was in use as a marketplace during the late 1620s.

In 1647, Christian IV sold the building to the merchant Jacob Madsen for 50,000 Danish rigsdaler.{{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Theodor |title=Børsen i København |date=2019 |publisher=Lindhardt og Ringhof |isbn=978-8726296501 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XUSyDwAAQBAJ |access-date=16 April 2024 |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417171046/https://books.google.com/books?id=XUSyDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live}} Frederick III later reacquired the building from Madsen's widow, who could no longer afford to maintain the building.

The building was restored by Nicolai Eigtved in 1745.{{cite web |title=Hvor langt skal man spole tilbage? |url=https://arkitektforeningen.dk/arkitekten/hvor-langt-skal-man-spole-tilbage/ |website=www.arkitektforeningen.dk |publisher=Arkitektforeningen – Danish Association of Architects |access-date=16 April 2024 |date=14 March 2024 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416094810/https://arkitektforeningen.dk/arkitekten/hvor-langt-skal-man-spole-tilbage/ |url-status=live}}

File:Børsen - Højbro.jpg bridge in the foreground, 19th century]]

The interior of the building was renovated in 1855, and the interior was renovated by architect Harald Conrad Stilling.{{Cite Q | Q107323506}} In 1857, Frederick VII sold the building to Grosserer-Societetet for 70,000 rigsdaler.

On 11 February 1918, due to rising inequality, unemployed anarchists stormed Børsen, attacking stockbrokers.{{cite web |url=http://www.leksikon.org/art.php?n=2820 |title=Børsen, Stormen på (1918) |language=da |publisher=Leksikon.org |access-date=15 November 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312055513/http://www.leksikon.org/art.php?n=2820 |url-status=live}}

The building housed the Danish stock market until 1974.

As of 2024, the building served as the headquarters of the Danish Chamber of Commerce ({{lang|da|Dansk Erhverv}}).{{cite web |title=Danish Chamber of Commerce |url=https://www.danskerhverv.dk/engelsk/ |website=www.danskerhverv.dk |publisher=Danish Chamber of Commerce |access-date=16 April 2024 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416102134/https://www.danskerhverv.dk/engelsk/ |url-status=live}}

File:Børsen smolders.jpg

On 16 April 2024, a fire during renovation work in the main building's copper roof destroyed about half of the building and resulted in the collapse of its iconic {{lang|da|Dragespir}} ("Dragon Spire").{{cite news |date=16 April 2024 |title=Fire destroys Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange dating to 1600s, collapsing its dragon-tail spire |url=https://apnews.com/article/copenhagen-fire-spire-stock-exchange-045be0d926a7dd590d4f32e5cea07360 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416081450/https://apnews.com/article/copenhagen-fire-spire-stock-exchange-045be0d926a7dd590d4f32e5cea07360 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |work=Associated Press}} There were no casualties.{{cite news |last=Kirby |first=Paul |date=16 April 2024 |title=Historic Copenhagen stock exchange in Denmark goes up in flames |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68824189 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416073708/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68824189 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |publisher=BBC News}} Børsen survived several earlier fires that occurred nearby: {{lang|da|Christiansborg Palace|italic=no}} burned down several times, the neighbouring building {{lang|da|Privatbanken|italic=no}} has been on fire, and the same happened to {{lang|da|Proviantgården|italic=no}} in {{lang|da|Slotsholmsgade|italic=no}} in 1992. The scaffolding around the building also caught fire, making it harder for firefighters to reach the flames,{{cite news |last1=Halasz |first1=Stephanie |last2=Mortensen |first2=Antonia |last3=Said-Moorhouse |first3=Lauren |date=16 April 2024 |title=Spire collapses after fire rips through Copenhagen's old stock exchange |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/16/style/copenhagen-old-stock-exchange-fire-intl/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416083457/https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/16/style/copenhagen-old-stock-exchange-fire-intl/index.html |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |publisher=CNN}} while the copper roof contained the heat.{{cite news |last=Brady |first=Kate |date=16 April 2024 |title=Fire consumes Copenhagen's 400-year-old stock market building |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/16/copenhagen-fire-old-stock-exchange-denmark/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416141112/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/16/copenhagen-fire-old-stock-exchange-denmark/ |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Military personnel were also on site to support firefighting efforts. Additional machinery was deployed to help remove the roof, as it was preventing water from reaching the fire. The facades were in danger of collapsing while the fire burned, as the building is mostly made of wood.{{cite news |last=Milne |first=Richard |date=16 April 2024 |title=Denmark's historic stock exchange goes up in flames |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f9ec9d26-81eb-40d9-9127-737f2d498c75 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416104326/https://www.ft.com/content/f9ec9d26-81eb-40d9-9127-737f2d498c75 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |publisher=Financial Times}} A part of the north facade and a part of the west gable eventually collapsed on 18 April.{{cite news |date=18 April 2024 |title=Historic Copenhagen building smolders for third day as facade collapses |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240418-historic-copenhagen-building-smolders-for-third-day-as-facade-collapses |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418222923/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240418-historic-copenhagen-building-smolders-for-third-day-as-facade-collapses |archive-date=18 April 2024 |access-date=18 April 2024 |publisher=France 24}}

"Several hundred" historic artworks from the building's substantial collection,{{cite news |last1=Kirby |first1=Paul |date=16 April 2024 |title=Historic Copenhagen stock exchange in Denmark goes up in flames |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68824189 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416073708/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68824189 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |publisher=BBC |agency=BBC News}}{{cite news |title=Denmark's 'Notre Dame moment': passers-by rescue paintings from blazing Boersen building in Copenhagen |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/04/16/its-our-notre-dame-moment-politicians-and-passers-by-rescue-paintings-from-blazing-boersen-building-in-copenhagen |access-date=18 April 2024 |work=The Art Newspaper |date=16 April 2024 |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417214427/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/04/16/its-our-notre-dame-moment-politicians-and-passers-by-rescue-paintings-from-blazing-boersen-building-in-copenhagen |url-status=live }} as well as historic furniture, were rescued from the burning building by staff, emergency workers, and passers-by.{{Cite news |date=16 April 2024 |title=Copenhagen's historic stock exchange in flames |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68824189 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416073708/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68824189 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |via=www.bbc.com}} Among them were the paintings From Copenhagen Stock Exchange by Skagen Painter Peder Severin Krøyer and {{lang|da|Handelskammeret}} by Thomas Kluge.{{cite web |date=16 April 2024 |title=Særligt maleri reddet ud af brændende Børsen |url=https://www.tv2east.dk/naestved/saerligt-maleri-reddet-ud-af-braendende-boersen |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416163001/https://www.tv2east.dk/naestved/saerligt-maleri-reddet-ud-af-braendende-boersen |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |website=TV2 ØST |language=da}}{{cite news |date=16 April 2024 |title=Historisk P.S. Krøyer-maleri reddes ud fra brændende Børsen |url=https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2024-04-16-historisk-ps-kroeyer-maleri-reddes-ud-fra-braendende-boersen |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416072024/https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2024-04-16-historisk-ps-kroeyer-maleri-reddes-ud-fra-braendende-boersen |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |work=TV 2 (Denmark) |publisher=TV 2 (Denmark) |language=da}} However, a two-tonne bust of King Christian IV of Denmark was lost.{{cite news |date=21 April 2024 |title=Borsen fire: Denmark endures its own Notre Dame devastation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68848772 |access-date=21 April 2024 |publisher=BBC}} The nearby National Museum immediately sent 25 employees to help retrieve the art.

Brian Mikkelsen, CEO of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which owns the building, said that it would be rebuilt "no matter what".{{cite news |last1=Milne |first1=Richard |date=16 April 2024 |title=Denmark's historic stock exchange goes up in flames |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f9ec9d26-81eb-40d9-9127-737f2d498c75 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416104326/https://www.ft.com/content/f9ec9d26-81eb-40d9-9127-737f2d498c75 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |publisher=Financial Times}}{{Cite news |last=Pelham |first=Lipika |date=17 April 2024 |title=Copenhagen vows to rebuild fire-hit stock exchange |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68834447 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240418223222/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68834447 |archive-date=18 April 2024 |access-date=17 April 2024 |work=BBC |language=en-GB}} Denmark's Deputy Prime Minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, called the fire "our own Notre Dame moment". The fire occurred five years and one day after the Notre-Dame fire in Paris, another renovation fire which also destroyed the building's roof and spire. King Frederik X released a statement, saying that the fire was "a sad sight [...] For 400 years, Christian IV's edifice, Børsen, has been a distinctive landmark of Copenhagen."{{cite web |title=Announcement from HM The King |url=https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/announcement-from-hm-the-king |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416170459/https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/announcement-from-hm-the-king |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |website=kongehuset.dk/en |publisher=The Royal House}}

Reconstruction works on the building began on 26 September 2024, with King Frederik X laying a foundation stone.{{cite web |title=Denmark’s king launches reconstruction of famed landmark badly damaged by fire |url=https://apnews.com/article/king-reconstrution-stock-exchange-fire-copenhagen-denmark-f58ed2d2b6c55f0aa2d4a19a9f92b4cc |access-date=26 September 2024 |website=Associated Press}} On 12 November 2024, police ruled out criminal acts as a cause of the fire, adding that it could not determine the exact cause.{{cite web |title=Danish police close investigation into Old Stock Exchange fire |url=https://apnews.com/article/denmark-old-stock-exchange-fire-investigation-april-c48b64356465e40c74cdaf4b5863728a |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=Associated Press}}

Børsen was constructed by the architects Lorenz van Steenwinckel and Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger. It is approximately {{convert|128|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|21|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide.{{cite web |last1=Slots- og Kulturstyrelsens register over Fredede og Bevaringsværdige Bygninger i Danmark |date=12 December 2019 |title=Børsen, København |url=https://trap.lex.dk/B%C3%B8rsen,_K%C3%B8benhavn |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418160604/https://trap.lex.dk/B%C3%B8rsen,_K%C3%B8benhavn |archive-date=18 April 2024 |access-date=18 April 2024 |website=lex.dk |publisher=Trap Danmark |language=Danish}}

The building was known for its twisted "Dragon Spire," which was from 1625{{Cite web |title=Børsen |url=https://www.danskerhverv.dk/restaurering/ |access-date=17 April 2024 |website=Dansk Erhverv |language=da-DK |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417032015/https://www.danskerhverv.dk/restaurering/ |url-status=live }} and was designed as four intertwining dragon tails. The spire had three crowns atop, symbolizing the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. In 1775, a new spire was erected somewhat similar to the old one because there was a risk of it collapsing. The dragons that made up the spire, designed by the fireworks master of Christian IV, were supposed to protect the building from enemies and fire.

There have been some minor changes over time.{{Example needed|s|date=April 2024}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.borsbygningen.dk/hist.htm |title=Børsbygningen.dk, owned by Dansk Erhverv - The Danish Chamber of Commerce |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720053226/http://www.borsbygningen.dk/hist.htm |url-status=dead}}

File:Børsen from Christiansborg Palace 20180721-4.jpg|Børsen seen from the tower of Christiansborg

File:Børsen - Dragespiret.jpg|Base of the spire

File:Børsen vest 2009.jpg|Western facade of Børsen

File:Børssalen.jpg|Børssalen

File:Top of the stock exchange tower.jpg|Top of the stock exchange tower in Copenhagen.

File:Roof of the stock exchange.jpg|Tower of the stock exchange in Copenhagen (2021)

File:Copenhagen Stock Exchange.jpg|Copenhagen Stock Exchange, part of the tower

File:Copenhagen Stock Exchange, part of the tower.jpg|Copenhagen Stock Exchange, part of the tower

{{more citations needed section|date=April 2024}}

File:Fra Københavns Børs.jpg]]

Børsen housed several artworks, including a large number of portraits, both individual portraits and group portraits, as well as Lorenz Frølich's four cartoons in charcoal drawing depicting four virtues: work, justice, courage, and love. But foremost was P. S. Krøyer's large group portrait From Copenhagen Stock Exchange and also a new version of the exchange painting by Thomas Kluge with the 13 committee members from the Chamber of Commerce.{{cite news |title=Historisk P.S. Krøyer-maleri reddes ud fra brændende Børsen |url=https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2024-04-16-historisk-ps-kroeyer-maleri-reddes-ud-fra-braendende-boersen |access-date=16 April 2024 |work=TV 2 (Denmark) |publisher=TV 2 (Denmark) |date=16 April 2024 |language=da |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416072024/https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2024-04-16-historisk-ps-kroeyer-maleri-reddes-ud-fra-braendende-boersen |url-status=live }} Additionally, there was C. F. Høyer's painting {{lang|da|Christian IV giver Tyge Brahe en guldkæde}} from 1810, a {{lang|da|Marinebillede}} by Anton Melbye from 1863, {{lang|da|Søstykker}} by Christian Mølsted from 1890, and Badende ved stranden by William Scharff from 1939.

During the April 2024 fire, a number of historic art pieces dating back centuries, including Peder Severin Krøyer's 1895 group portrait, were rescued by staff and members of the public. The artworks have been temporarily moved to the parliament building as well as the Danish National Archives.{{Cite news |date=April 2024 |title=Artnet |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/fire-copenhagen-stock-exchange-building-2470524 |access-date=19 April 2024 |archive-date=19 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419074047/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/fire-copenhagen-stock-exchange-building-2470524 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=April 16, 2024 |title=The Art Newspaper |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/04/16/its-our-notre-dame-moment-politicians-and-passers-by-rescue-paintings-from-blazing-boersen-building-in-copenhagen |access-date=18 April 2024 |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417214427/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/04/16/its-our-notre-dame-moment-politicians-and-passers-by-rescue-paintings-from-blazing-boersen-building-in-copenhagen |url-status=live }}

File:Børsen - Neptune.jpg|Statue of Neptune at the left side of the ramp

File:Mercury (Børsen) 02.jpg|Statue of Mercury at the right side of the ramp

File:Pejs i Børsen 2.jpg|Fireplace

File:Pejs i Børsen.jpg|Fireplace

File:Fliden.jpg|Diligence

File:Klogskaben.jpg|Wisdom

File:Modet.jpg|Courage

File:Retfærdigheden.jpg|Justice

• Nasdaq Copenhagen
• Danish Brotherhood in America Headquarters
• List of building or structure fires

{{reflist}}

• {{Commons-inline}}
• {{Commons-inline|Category:2024 Børsen fire|Børsen fire}}

{{Copenhagen}}

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Category:Brick buildings and structures in Denmark

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1640

Category:Buildings and structures in Copenhagen

Category:Financial history of Denmark

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Category:Stock exchange buildings

Category:Tourist attractions in Copenhagen

Category:Slotsholmen

Category:Burned buildings and structures in Europe