Børsen

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Børsen
The building located in Copenhagen, Denmark, before the spire and roof were destroyed in the 2024 fire.
General information
Status	Damaged by fire
Architectural style	Dutch renaissance
Town or city	Copenhagen
Country	Denmark
Coordinates	DK-84 55°40′32″N 12°35′2″E / 55.67556°N 12.58389°E / 55.67556; 12.58389
Construction started	1619
Completed	1640
Renovated	1745 1855
Client	Christian IV
Owner	Danish Chamber of Commerce
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Lorenz van Steenwinckel and Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger
Renovating team
Architect(s)	Nicolai Eigtved (1745) Harald Conrad Stilling (1855)

Børsen (Danish for "the bourse"), also known as Børsbygningen ("the bourse building"), is a damaged 17th-century stock exchange in the centre of Copenhagen. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament, on the island of Slotsholmen.

Built under the reign of Christian IV in 1619–1640, the building is considered a leading example of the Dutch Renaissance style in Denmark. It is a protected building for conservation purposes.^[1]

Børsen, a popular tourist attraction, was most noted for its distinctive spire, shaped as the tails of four dragons twined together, reaching a height of 56 m (184 ft). On 16 April 2024, the building was severely damaged by a fire, which toppled the spire.^[2]

History[edit]

Børsen painted by H.G.F. Holm, c. 1823

Børsen seen with Højbro Bridge in the foreground

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.^[3]

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). 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.^[4] 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.^[3]

In 1647, Christian IV sold the building to the merchant Jacob Madsen for 50,000 Danish rigsdaler.^[5] Frederick III later reacquired the building from Madsen's widow, who could no longer afford to maintain the building.^[3]

The building was restored by Nicolai Eigtved in 1745.^[6]

19th and 20th centuries[edit]

The interior of the building was renovated in 1855, and the interior was renovated by architect Harald Conrad Stilling.^[7] In 1857, Frederick VII sold the building to Grosserer-Societetet^[4] for 70,000 rigsdaler.^[5]

The building housed the Danish stock-market until 1974. In 1918, unemployed anarchists attacked Børsen, an attack that went into the Danish history books as stormen på Børsen (Storm on the Stock Exchange).^[8]

21st century[edit]

As of 2018, the building serves as the headquarters of the Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv).^[9]

2024 fire[edit]

On 16 April 2024, a fire during renovation work in the main building's copper roof resulted in the collapse of its iconic Dragespir (translated: Dragon Spire). About half of the building was destroyed due to the fire. With additional machinery the roof was removed, as it was stopping water from reaching the fire.^[10] There were no casualties.^[11] Historic paintings^[11] and historic furniture^[10] were rescued from the burning building.

Brian Mikkelsen, CEO of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which owns the building, said that it would be rebuilt.^[12] The fire was compared to the Notre-Dame fire five years earlier.^[10]

Cultural references[edit]

• Børsen is the location where Holm-Hansen hands the Bedford Diamonds over to an Arabian sheik in the 1974 Olsen-banden film The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang.^[13]

See also[edit]

• Nasdaq Copenhagen
• Slotsholmsgade
• Danish Brotherhood in America Headquarters
• Construction and renovation fires
• List of building or structure fires
• List of destroyed heritage

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Børsen at Wikimedia Commons