On May 7, 1697 a large fire broke out in Tre Kronor that completely demolished the majority of the then more-than-400-year-old castle. The fire was discovered by the castle's keeper, Georg Stiernhoff. The fire marshal, Sven Lindberg, informed the royal staff that he could not get to the fire extinguishing equipment because the fire blocked his access to it. The royal family and court were forced to evacuate the castle. The servants attempted to save as much as possible of the royal possessions. The fire spread quickly to all parts of the castle. Since the castle was made out of wood and copper, the hot copper plates set the roof on fire. Due to the fire most of Sweden's national library and royal archives were destroyed.