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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Thursday

Firefighters work to shore up burnt-out walls of old Stock Exchange, Great Belt Bridge traffic disruptions, world’s tallest wind turbine goes up in West Jutland and more news from Denmark on Thursday.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Thursday
Danish Chamber of Commerce director Brian Mikkelsen with the top of the fallen Børsen Dragon Spire. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

Fire services at Børsen taking things ‘one day at a time’ 

Firefighters still working to put out the remnants of the devastating blaze at Copenhagen’s old stock exchange Børsen say they are working on improving the stability of the centuries-old building’s outer walls.

“It’s very complicated work because the entire roof section of the scaffolding is now in a large pile with the copper roof, storey partitions, contents of the building and so on,” senior firefighter Frederik Ryber told broadcaster DR.

READ ALSO: IN PICS: What will it take to rebuild Copenhagen’s old stock exchange building?

The walls need to be stabilised before work to clear damage from the building can continue on Thursday.

Around 10 firefighters have continued to extinguish small fires and monitor for any outbreaks overnight as the fire services remain present as long as they are needed.

“We are taking it a day at a time,” Ryber said.

Vocabulary: stillads – scaffolding

Great Belt Bridge reopens after short traffic closure

The Great Belt Bridge between Zealand and Funen was briefly closed early this morning but traffic is now again crossing normally, operator Sund & Bælt said in a post on social media X.

The delay was caused by “diversion of traffic” and follows similar disruptions throughout this week with maintenance work ongoing on the crossing.

Drivers using the bridge during the night and early hours particular may see delays.

Vocabulary: vedligholdelse – maintenance

World’s tallest wind turbine erected in West Jutland

Yesterday saw a world record broken in West Jutlnd town Thyborøn as Vestas completed the installation of the world’s tallest land wind turbine, DR writes.

After the turbine machinery was affixed to the tower yesterday afternoon, the 15 megawatt construction reached a height of 266 meters – taller than the Great Belt Bridge.

Project leader Jens Jørgen Birch said there had been “no protests at all” from local residents opposing the turbine.

“It’s also now the fourth time we’ve erected wind turbines in the area,” he told DR.

Vocabulary: verdensrekord – world record

Public servants offered incentives to speed up mink compensation claims

Officials are to be offered a financial incentive as the government attempts to speed up mink fur farmers’ compensation cases, Minister of Transport Thomas Danielsen says.

Public servants who Work for at least 18 months in the government departments in the towns of Viborg, Aalborg, Vejle and Skanderborg, where the cases are bwing processed, can get paid an extra 5,000 kroner per month, Danielsen told DR.

READ ALSO: Denmark ejects mink breeders from compensation committees

“This should be seen as a temporary task to be completed,” Danielsen said

The transport minister is on the case because the so-called “Minksekretariat”, which is processing state compensation for the government’s 2020 decision to temporarily ban mink fur farming, comes under the Danish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority (Trafikstyrelsen).

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

King Frederik X praises Norwegian TV series, Bornholm trialing lampposts as car chargers, today could be the first official day of summer, and other news from Denmark on Wednesday.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

King Frederik X praises Norwegian TV series Skam on state visit 

Denmark’s King Frederik X has credited the Norwegian TV series Skam, meaning “Shame”, for bringing young peole from Denmark and Norway together, at a speech at the Norwegian Royal Palace in Oslo. 

“Norway is almost the Nordic champion in youth series, and today the majority of Danish youngsters know the meaning of tuller du? [“Are you kidding?”] and serr [“Seriously?”],” he said in the speech.

In Denmark, he continued, the series was so popular that it led to several Norwegian words and expressions working their way into the Danish language.

King Frederik and Queen Mary are on a state tour of Sweden and Norway.  

Danish vocabulary: betydningen – the meaning

Denmark trials using lampposts as car chargers 

The Danish Technical University is working with the municipality and muncipal power company on the island of Bornholm to trial using lampposts in the capital, Rønne, as chargers for electric vehicles. 

The lampposts have been shifted to LED bulbs, so use only a franction of the electrical capacity they were built with, freeing up capacity for the charger.

“We have set up a traditional charging stand in a lamppost, where electricity has already been connected. Because we now have LED fixtures, there is plenty of spare capacity. So you can easily charge an electric car overnight with the charging stand installed here,” said Claus Andersen, from the power company. 

The project has intalled chargers from the Spirii brand, which can charge up at up to 22 kwh.

“It’s a great idea to take a metal stand at the edge of the road which still has electricity in it and put a charger in it,” said Mads Aarup, at the Danish Society of Engineers. “It’s super good. It’s brilliant because it has dual use.” 

Danish vocabulary: genial – brilliant 

New Danish train signalling delayed by three years  

A new signalling system being rolled out across Denmark will not be completed until 2033, three years later than the 2030 target, with the rollout on the tracks between Copenhagen and Helsingör, and between Roskilde and Copenhagen particularly badly delayed, Denmark’s rail operator, Banedanmark, has said. 

This means rail travellers will have to wait even longer to have their routes “future-proofed”. 

The problems are connected to Alstom, which is responsible for the new signalling system, and which had wanted to delay project completion until 2031. 

“Alstom has taken good measures to reassure us, but we have not yet seen it implemented,” Peter Jonasson, from Banedanmark told the Ritzau newswire. “Therefore, we have become sceptical about the timetable and assessed that a buffer of another two years is needed.” 

He acknowledges that during the process there has been an opportunity to change supplier, but it is more complicated than that, it says.

Danish vocabulary: fremtidssikret – future-proofed

Denmark may get first summer day of the year

Today could mark the first day of summer, with the temperature passing 25C at at least one of the official measuring stations run by the Danish Meteorological Institute. 

On Tuesday, Denmark came within a tenth of a degree of meteorological summer when the measuring station in Stauning near Skjern reached 24.9C. 

DMI is predicting 20C by lunchtime in the western parts of Jutland, as well as on Funen, Zealand and the surrounding islands, with the temperatures then creeping up to between 21C and 23C across the West Coast, with temperatures of 24C to 25C close to the German border.

Danish vocabulary: en målestation – a measuring station 

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