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Copenhagen Old Stock Exchange fire, 2024 -

On April 16, 2024, fire ripped through Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange, one of the Danish capital's most famous landmarks. A number of Renaissance paintings and furniture were recovered from the 17th-century building before the flames spread. There was no report of any casualties.

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The dangers posed by fire -

The blaze that badly damaged the Old Stock Exchange, or Børsen, underlines just how vulnerable historic buildings are to the dangers of fire, and how difficult it is protecting them from this kind of hazard. Sadly, it's not the first time a building of great cultural significance has fallen victim to an inferno.

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Temple of Artemis fire, 356 BCE -

The Temple of Artemis, which stood in Ephesus near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey, was the first marble temple in the Greek world. In 356 BCE, the temple erupted in flames, the result of arson committed by an individual called Herostratus, who was motivated by a desire for personal fame and notoriety. The site today is marked only by charred and weathered foundations and fragments.

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Library of Alexandria fire, 48 BCE -

The loss of the ancient world's single greatest archive of knowledge, the Library of Alexandria, has been lamented for centuries. The library was accidentally burned by Julius Caesar during his civil war in 48 BCE. History records that some of the collection of the near 400,000 papyrus scrolls survived the inferno. Sadly, these have been lost to time.

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Old St Paul's fire, 1666 -

St Paul's Cathedral in London is one of the world's most recognized buildings. But it stands in the place of Old St Paul's, built from 1087 to 1314, and totally destroyed in 1666 during the Great Fire of London.

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Richmond Theatre fire, 1811 -

The Richmond Theatre fire on December 26, 1811, took the lives of more than 70 people, including the governor of Virginia, and destroyed one of America's most prestigious cultural centers, whose patrons included James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and several Founding Fathers. The Monumental Church was built on the Richmond Theatre site to commemorate those who had died from the fire.

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White House fire, 1814 -

On August 14, 1814, during the American Revolutionary War, British troops overran Washington and proceeded to sack the city. A primary target was the White House, which they torched in retaliation for the American attack on the city of York in Ontario, Canada, in June 1813.

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Grue Church fire, 1822 -

The fire that broke out on May 26, 1822, and engulfed the church at Grue in Norway killed at least 113 people and remains the country's deadliest blaze. The new church, which is located in the center of Kirkenær, was completed in 1828.

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Westminster Palace fire, 1834 -

Westminster Palace, Britain's medieval-era seat of parliament, was largely destroyed by a blaze in October 1834. Attributed to a chimney fire, the resulting conflagration was the largest London had seen since 1666. Construction of the new palace was completed in 1860 with the inauguration of the Victoria Tower.

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La Fenice Theatre fire, 1836 -

Teatro La Fenice, a historic opera house in Venice, Italy, has been devastated by fire twice since the first theater was opened in 1792; first in 1836, and again in 1996, this time a result of arson. The present La Fenice reopened on December 14, 2003.

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Tuileries Palace fire, 1871 -

The fire that engulfed Tuileries Palace on May 23, 1871, was of sufficient magnitude to totally destroy this famous 19th-century landmark. It occurred during the suppression of the Paris Commune, and was blamed on arsonists.

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Grace Cathedral fire, 1906 -

The fires that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake devoured much of the city and were, in fact, more devastating than the quake itself. Among the many historic buildings that fell victim to the flames was the 19th-century Grace Cathedral. A new cathedral was completed in 1964.

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University of Leuven Library fire, 1914 -

On August 19, 1914, German troops arrived in Leuven and proceeded to sack the Belgian town. Among the buildings destroyed was the university library. Rare Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts, a collection of 750 medieval manuscripts, and more than 1,000 incunabula (books printed before 1501) were among the priceless volumes lost in a wanton act of cultural vandalism that shocked the world.

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Reichstag fire, 1933 -

The burning of the Reichstag building in Berlin in February 1933 remains one of the most pivotal events in world history. A lone arsonist, Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was the alleged culprit. Hitler subsequently used the episode to claim that communists were plotting against the German government.

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The Crystal Palace fire, 1936 -

The Crystal Palace in London's Hyde Park was built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. On November 30, 1936, a small fire broke out. The fire brigade was called out and tried unsuccessfully to deal with the fire, which was getting larger by the minute. The flames spread rapidly, largely due to wooden flooring. Blistering heat fractured the glass and eventually melted the building's iron frame. The Victorian palace was lost forever.

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Howard Athenaeum fire, 1961 -

The curtain finally came down over the Howard Athenaeum on June 20, 1961, after a fire completely destroyed one of Boston's most famous theaters. Founded in 1845, the cultural facility, also known as Old Howard Theatre, had in fact been dark since 1953, after police closed it due to increasingly risqué burlesque performances. The building was demolished in 1962.

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Hotel Polen fire, 1977 -

Hotel Polen in Amsterdam was one of the most historic guest accommodation options in the city, established in 1891. On May 9, 1977, a fire broke out in the five-story property, resulting in 33 deaths and 21 severe injuries. The building was subsequently demolished. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

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MGM Grand Hotel and Casino fire, 1980 -

Opened in 1973, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino was a magnet for celebrities and high-rollers. But on November 21, 1980, the property suffered a fire that started in a casino restaurant. It soon spiraled out of control to become one of the worst high-rise fires in the United States' history, killing 85 people. The MGM was rebuilt to become the Horseshoe Las Vegas.

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York Minster fire, 1984 -

York Minster, consecrated in 1472, is one of England's finest examples of medieval religious architecture. But this extraordinary cathedral and its interior riches were threatened by fire on July 9, 1984, after a lightning strike. The roof collapsed, and the intense heat caused the stained glass in the 15th-century Rose Window to crack into 40,000 pieces.

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Bradford City stadium fire, 1985 -

English soccer club Bradford City's Valley Parade dates back to 1886. On May 11, 1985, one of the UK's worst sporting disasters occurred at Valley Parade when 56 people died and at least 265 were injured when the main stand, largely made of wood, was engulfed by fire. The structure and facilities were subsequently modernized in the wake of the tragedy.

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Hampton Court Palace fire, 1986 -

Hampton Court Palace is one of the most distinguished royal properties in Great Britain. King Henry VIII made it his home and added the Great Hall. In 1986, the palace was damaged by a major fire, which spread to the King's Apartments. It was likely caused by a lit candle. The fire led to an extensive new program of restoration work, which was completed in 1990. 

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Windsor Castle fire, 1992 -

A remarkable 115 rooms, including nine State Rooms, were destroyed in the fire that broke out in Windsor Castle on November 20, 1992. Investigators later ascertained that the fire started in Queen Victoria's Private Chapel, where a faulty spotlight ignited a curtain next to the altar. Queen Elizabeth II was among those helping to remove priceless paintings and irreplaceable antiques from the burning building.

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World Trade Center fires, 2001 -

The September 11, 2001, aerial attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City caused two enormous infernos, the heat from which eventually softened and weakened the steel lattice reinforcing columns, which caused floors to sag, pulling perimeter columns inward, thus reducing their ability to support the mass of the building above. The towers were designed by renowned Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki and featured numerous innovative design elements.

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Château de Lunéville fire, 2003 -

Over January 2–3, 2003, France witnessed the near destruction by fire of Château de Lunéville after flames gutted the interior of the early 18th-centuty palace, located near Nancy. The historic property was eventually restored to its former glory.

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Brighton West Pier fire, 2003 -

A partial metal framework is all that remains of Brighton's West Pier, once one of Victorian Britain's most cherished visitor attractions. Closed in 1970 due to safety concerns, the pierhead caught fire on March 28, 2003, after an alleged arson attack. The following year, high winds caused the middle of the pier to collapse completely, after which English Heritage declared the once famous structure beyond repair.

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Taj Palace & Tower fire, 2008 -

The Taj Palace & Tower was one of the main targets in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Opened in 1903, the historic five-star property suffered significant fire damage to its roof after the building was stormed by members of a terrorist group in a coordinated shooting and bombing attack on several targets across the city in November 2008.

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Al-Madina Souq fire, 2012 -

Fire gutted Aleppo's medieval Al-Madina Souq on September 30, 2012, after the area was shelled by Syrian regime forces during the civil war, which is still on-going. Hundreds of shops were burned, many of which had stood since the 14th century.

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National Museum of Brazil fire, 2018 -

The loss of artworks destroyed in the fire that engulfed the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018, was described by then Brazilian President Michel Temer as "incalculable." The museum, located in Rio de Janeiro, was largely destroyed.

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Honey Run Covered Bridge fire, 2018 -

One of the United States' iconic covered bridges, the historic Honey Run Covered Bridge was completed in 1887, with a cover added in 1901. It was destroyed on November 8, 2018, by the Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history.

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Notre-Dame fire, 2019 -

Paris came to a standstill on April 15, 2019, as the city stared in disbelief while Notre-Dame burned. The world-famous, 12th-century cathedral was undergoing refurbishment when a structural fire broke out in the building's roof space. One of the most iconic images captured during the disaster was the toppling of the wooden spire (flèche) into a sea of flames.

Sources: (CNN) (Time) (History Today) (World History Encyclopedia) (Royal Collection Trust) (The New York Times)

See also: The world's worst industrial disasters

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