The spire tumbled to the ground in the fire that broke out on Tuesday morning, in scenes that shocked Denmark
The spire tumbled to the ground in the fire that broke out on Tuesday morning, in scenes that shocked Denmark AFP

Danish firefighters on Wednesday battled for a second day to extinguish a fire that gutted Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange after working through the night to douse the flames.

Half of the 17th-century Borsen building was burned and its 54-metre (180-foot) spire tumbled to the ground in the fire that broke out on Tuesday morning, in scenes that shocked Denmark.

Emergency services announced the blaze was under control on Tuesday but it continued to burn in the part of the building, which had been undergoing renovation.

On Wednesday morning, firefighters were still tackling flames in the damaged part of the building, "where only the exterior walls remain", they wrote on X, the former Twitter.

They added they were working to secure the stability of the walls and monitoring undamaged areas. Firefighters predicted they would be battling the flames for another 24 hours.

Close to the Christiansborg parliament and seat of government, it was commissioned by King Christian IV and built between 1619 and 1640. It was the stock exchange until the 1970s.