The building that houses the Brussels Stock Exchange
does not have a distinct name, though it is usually
called simply the Bourse. It is located on
Boulevard Anspach, and is the namesake of the
Beursplein/Place de la Bourse, which is, after the
Grand Place, the second most important square in
Brussels.
As part of the
covering of the river Senne for health and aesthetic
reasons in the
1860s and
1870s, a massive program of beautification of the
city centre was undertaken. Architect
Léon-Pierre Suys, as part of his proposal for
covering of the Senne, designed a building to become the
centre of the rapidly expanding business sector. It was
to be located on the former butter market, (itself
situated on the ruins of the former
Recollets Franciscan convent) on the newly created
Anspach Boulevard (then called Central Boulevard).
The building was erected from
1868 to
1873, and mixes elements of the
Neo-Renaissance and
Second Empire architectural styles. It has an
abundance of ornaments and sculptures, created by famous
artists, including the brothers Joseph and Jacques
Jacquet,
Guillaume de Groot, French sculptor
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and his
then-assistant
Auguste Rodin.
