Its distinctive tower, shaped like the tails of four entwined dragons, reached a height of 56 meters.
The cause of the fire in the building, which is covered with scaffolding and protective plastic sheeting due to restoration work, is not yet known, but no casualties were reported.
The fire was described by many city residents as "Denmark's Notre Dame". The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the capital of France, was destroyed by a massive fire in 2019, and the cathedral's symbolic spiral tower collapsed.
400 years of history
Located next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of parliament in the capital Copenhagen, the building was one of the city's popular tourist attractions and housed many valuable works of art. Completed in 1625, the building also housed the headquarters of the Danish Chamber of Commerce. The building was immediately evacuated upon the incident and people were seen running to the building to save the paintings.
Danish Culture Minister Jakon Engel-Schmidt, who stated that 400 years of the country's past had been reduced to ashes, said it was "touching" to see passers-by helping emergency responders to save "art treasures".
Several buildings were evacuated due to the fire, including an annex building belonging to the parliament and also the Ministry of Finance on the street where the old Stock Exchange was located. Police have closed the entrance to the area where the building is located.
Located on Slotsholmen, the city's palace island, the building was built in the Dutch Renaissance style by King Christian IV of Denmark to transform Copenhagen into a major commercial center.
