The Brussels Stock Exchange (french: Bourse de Bruxelles, nl, Beurs van Brussel), abbreviated to BSE, was founded in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium, by decree of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in 1801. In 2002, the BSE merged with the
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
,
Lisbon and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
stock exchanges into
Euronext N.V., renaming the BSE Euronext Brussels. The most well known
stock market index on the BSE is the
BEL20
The BEL 20 is the benchmark stock market index of Euronext Brussels. It tracks the performance of 20 most capitalized and liquid stocks traded in Belgium. In general, the index consists of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 companies traded a ...
.
The former Brussels Stock Exchange building (french: Palais de la Bourse, link=no, nl, Beurspaleis, link=no), usually shortened to or , is located on the
Place de la Bourse/Beursplein along the
Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan. This area is served by the ''
premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area.
Hist ...
'' (underground tram) station
Bourse/Beurse on lines
3 and
4.
History
Inception and construction
Following the
covering of the river Senne for health and aesthetic reasons between 1867 and 1871, a massive programme of beautification of Brussels' city centre was undertaken. Architect
Léon-Pierre Suys, as part of his proposal to construct a
series of grand boulevards in the river's place, designed a stock exchange building to become the centre of the rapidly expanding business sector.
![La Bourse Bruxelles 1873](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/La_Bourse_Bruxelles_1873.jpg)
The Brussels Stock Exchange building was erected from 1868 to 1873, halfway down the newly created
Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan (then called the /), on the site of the former Butter Market (french: Marché au Beurre, link=no, nl, Botermarkt, link=no), itself built over the remains of the 13th-century ''Récollets''
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
. The building was inaugurated with a large ball in the presence of
King Leopold II
* german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor
, house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
, father = Leopold I of Belgium
, mother = Louise of Orléans
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Brussels, Belgium
, death_date = ...
, his wife
Queen Marie Henriette
Marie Henriette Anne of Austria (23 August 1836 – 19 September 1902) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold II. The marriage was arranged against the will of both Marie Henriette and Leopold and became unhappy due to their dis ...
, and his brother
Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
nl, Filips Eugeen Ferdinand Marie Clemens Boudewijn Leopold Joris
, image = Philippe comte de Flandre (1880).jpg
, caption =
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
, father ...
. In parallel to these works, a large square, called the
Place de la Bourse/Beursplein was created in front of the building.
Renovations and fire
Over the years, the stock exchange building underwent many renovations. In the period from 1930 to 1950, it was decided to increase the usable area and the incidence of light. On that occasion, a third floor was added and the central side walls on the / and the / were opened up. The load-bearing parts of the building were also reinforced with
reinforced concrete to support these renovations.
During the night from Thursday 29 to Friday 30 November 1990, a fire broke out in one of the
stockbrokers' cabins on the ground floor of the building, causing a lot of damage. As a result, the stock exchange risked losing its financial activities and its reason for existence. Though the building was neatly restored, automation and acquisitions were already bringing an end to old market practices. In July 1996, all market floor activities disappeared. That year, the cash market was fully digitalised and the daily meeting of stockbrokers and
traders therefore became redundant.
Mergers, relocation and future usage
In 1999, a first merger took place with CIK and BELFOX (BELgian Futures and Options Exchange). On 22 September 2000, the BSE merged again with
Paris Bourse
Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV. As of 2022, the 795 companies listed had a combined market ...
,
Lisbon Stock Exchange
Euronext Lisbon is a stock exchange in Lisbon, Portugal. It is part of Euronext pan-European exchange.
Euronext Lisbon trades equities, public and private bonds, participation bonds, warrants, corporate warrants, investment trust units, and e ...
and the
stock exchanges of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, to form
Euronext N.V., the first pan-European exchange for
equities
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
and
derivatives, with common trading and clearing of all products, and was renamed ''Euronext Brussels''. In 2015, this company moved away from the stock exchange building, which had become too large, after the lease was broken by the City of Brussels in 2012. Since then, the premises have occasionally housed temporary exhibitions. In the meantime, a competition was held about repurposing the stock exchange building. Renovations started in 2020 and it is expected to reopen in 2023 as a museum of
Belgian beer
Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flanders red ale, Flemish red ales, sour Oud bruin, brown ales, strong ales and Stout (beer), stouts. In 2018, there were 304 active breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as A ...
. The winning design by Robbrecht & Daem, Baneton-Garrino and Popoff will provide new space for the museum. On the roof there will be a panorama bar with terrace, covered by a brass
awning
An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a li ...
.
Building
The former Brussels Stock Exchange building does not have a distinct name, though it is usually called the in French or the in Dutch (or simply /), meaning "Stock Exchange Palace". It is located on the
Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan, and is the namesake of the
Place de la Bourse/Beursplein, which is, after the
Grand-Place/Grote Markt, the second most important square in Brussels.
![Bourse de Bruxelles 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Bourse_de_Bruxelles_01.JPG)
The
eclectic
Eclectic may refer to:
Music
* ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014
* ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996
* Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act
* Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
building mixes borrowings from the
neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...
and
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to:
* Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783
* Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396)
* Second French Empire (1852–1870)
** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
architectural styles. It has an abundance of ornaments and sculptures, created by famous artists, including the brothers Jacques and
Jean-Joseph Jacquet, the French sculptor
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (born Albert-Ernest Carrier de Belleuse; 12 June 1824 – 4 June 1887) was a French sculptor. He was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and was made an officer of the Legion of H ...
and his then-assistant
Auguste Rodin. Some of the best examples are the group of four
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
figures on the facade by
Guillaume de Groot, symbolising ''Art'', ''Agriculture'', ''Industry'' and ''Science'', as well as the
frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
s by Carrier-Belleuse, in which Rodin may have contributed.
The interior
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedim ...
includes
caryatid
A caryatid ( or or ; grc, Καρυᾶτις, pl. ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "ma ...
s by Antoine Joseph Van Rasbourgh, symbolising Protection, Trade, Art and Victory. The two monumental allegorical lion sculptures by Jacquet on each side of the main entrance's staircase (one with its head facing up, the other curved back) represent the two symbolic stock market trends (akin to the famous "
bull and bear" metaphor), as well as the Belgian Nation.
File:Brussel beurs Kunsten.JPG, ''Les arts'' ("Art")
File:Brussel beurs Landbouw.JPG, ''L'agriculture'' ("Agriculture")
File:Brussel beurs Nijverheid.JPG, ''L'industrie'' ("Industry")
File:Brussel beurs Wetenschappen.JPG, ''La science'' ("Science")
See also
*
Euro.nm
*
Euronext 100
The Euronext 100 Index is the blue chip (stock market), blue chip Index (finance), index of the pan-European exchange, Euronext NV.
It comprises the largest and most liquid stocks traded on Euronext. Each stock must trade more than 20 percent of ...
*
History of Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
*
Belgium in "the long nineteenth century"
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
{{coord, 50, 50, 53, N, 4, 21, 01, E, display=title, region:BE_type:landmark_source:frwiki
Stock Exchange
City of Brussels
Stock Exchange
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
Defunct stock exchanges
Office buildings in Belgium
Companies based in Brussels
Stock exchange buildings
Second Empire architecture
Beaux-Arts architecture
1801 establishments in France
2000 disestablishments in Belgium