Bourse at Antwerp (Handelsbeurs)
Twaalf Maandenstraat 3, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
The bourse or stock exchange of Antwerp is a building in Antwerp, Belgium, which was first opened in 1531 as the world's first purpose-built commodity exchange. The Royal Exchange in London was modelled on the Antwerp bourse. The bourse has been described as "the mother of all stock exchanges". Following a fire in 1858, the building was reconstructed, and from 1872, once again served the purpose of housing a bourse, this time as a true stock exchange, the Antwerp Stock Exchange. In 1997, this stock exchange was merged into the Brussels Stock Exchange (presently Euronext), and the building was once more abandoned and neglected. Following extensive restoration, the building is now part of a multipurpose events venue known as the Antwerp Trade Fair.
