La Bourse in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph courtesy of Glass Steel and Stone.

The Bourse is the stock market in Brussels, Belgium. It is located northwest of the Grand Place, the symbolic center of the city.

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Notes

The first stock exchange in Brussels was established by Napoleon's government on July 2, 1801.
The stock exchange was established in the Convent of Saint Augustine nuns on Rue Fossé-aux-Loup.
The convent building was sold, and the stock exchange moved to L'Hôtel des Monnaies (the national mint).
In 1820 the stock exchange moved to a house on Rue Léopold, then called Rue Guillaume.
In 1858, the stock brokers asked the city to build them a new building.
October, 1869 - construction begins.
December, 1873 - King Léopold II, Queen Marie-Henriette, and the Count and Countess of Flanders preside over the opening of this building.
1874 - construction is completed.
November, 1990 - Fire breaks out in the ground floor of this building. The architecture firm Trio headed the subsequent renovation of the building.
This was formerly the locaion of the Récollets Convent, some of which is preserved in a nearby museum.
Construction of the stock exchange builing in 1869 was part of a larger urban redevelopment program designed to improve a run-down section of Brussels.

There are two sculptures of lions in front by Joseph and Jacques Jacquet. One lion looks up, while the other has a bent back. They are considered the Belgian version of the "bulls and bears."
Above the main door are sculptures representing good and evil done by Victor de Haen.
The sculpture on the pediment features an allegorical figure of Belgium, flanked by figures representing Trade and Industry. It was executed by Joseph Jacquet.
The peristyle is adorned with carvings of flowers and fruits to symbolize abundance.
On the Rue Henri Maus side of the building are sculptures representing Asia and Africa.
Inside are four caryatids by Antoine-Joseph Van Rasbourgh.
Internet web sites often incorrectly state that Auguste Rodin had a hand in adorning this building. While he did flee to Brussels after the fall of Paris, there are no documents to support the claim that he worked on this building.