Børsen
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Børsen | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Dutch renaissance |
Town or city | Copenhagen |
Country | Denmark |
Coordinates | 55°40′32″N 12°35′2″E / 55.67556°N 12.58389°E |
Construction started | 1619 |
Completed | 1640 |
Client | Christian IV |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Lorentz and Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger |
Børsen (Danish for "the Exchange"), also known as Børsbygningen ("The (Stock) Exchange building" in English), is a 17th-century stock exchange in the center of Copenhagen. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament, on the island of Slotsholmen. Børsen, a popular tourist attraction, is most noted for its distinctive spire, shaped as the tails of four dragons twined together, reaching a height of 56 metres.
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]
History
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.[2]
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 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. Frederick III later reacquired the building from Madsen's widow.
The building was restored by Nicolai Eigtved in 1745.
19th and 20th centuries
The interior of the building was renovated in 1855. In 1857, Frederick VII sold the building to Grosserer-Societetet for 70,000 rigsdaler.
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).[3]
2024 fire
On the morning of 16 April 2024, smoke was reported rising from the roof of Børsen by the national broadcasting corporation, Danmarks Radio, at 08:03. The fire had spread throughout the building in the following minutes, resulting in the collapse of the famous "Dragespir" ("Dragon Spire") at around 08:32.[4][5]
The fire had happened despite an ongoing attempt to renovate the main building. The scaffolding around Børsen had also been caught in the fire. The exact cause of fire is currently unknown.
Current use
The building now serves as headquarters of the Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv).
Cultural references
- 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.[6]
Gallery
See also
Notes
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ "Sag: Børsen". Fredede og bevaringsværdige bygninger. Kulturstyrelsen. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ "The History". Børsbygningen. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "Børsen, Stormen på (1918)" (in Danish). Leksikon.org. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "Børsen i København står i brand: '400 års kulturarv i flammer'" (in Danish). Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ https://politiken.dk/danmark/hovedstaden/art9859317/B%C3%B8rsen-st%C3%A5r-i-flammer-Det-ikoniske-draget%C3%A5rn-er-kollapset
- ^ "Film 6 Olsen Bandens sidste bedrifter / Der (voraussichtlich) letzte Streich der Olsenbande". olsenbande-homepage.de (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2017.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
- Current events from April 2024
- 1640 establishments in Denmark
- Brick buildings and structures in Denmark
- Buildings and structures completed in 1640
- Buildings and structures in Copenhagen
- Financial history of Denmark
- Renaissance architecture in Copenhagen
- Stock exchange buildings
- Tourist attractions in Copenhagen
- Danish building and structure stubs