Børsen

It is considered an architectural masterpiece and provides insights into an exciting past. Today, the building is privately owned and used exclusively as an office building. It is a pity, because visitors can therefore only view the beauty of the building from the outside. Nevertheless, walks on Slotsholmen are among the highlights when visiting Denmark's fascinating capital.

The history of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange

King Christian IV decided to build the stock exchange in the 17th century. At that time, the building provided space for 75 small shops on two floors. The Thirty Years' War was raging in Europe at the time and trade in goods had come to a complete standstill. The king wanted to promote the weak trade and help his city to new prosperity. This proved difficult at first. But over the years, a unique trans-shipment centre for goods from all over the world developed: ships from India, America and China came to Copenhagen and offered their goods at the exchange.

The building

The Stock Exchange was commissioned by King Christian IV and built according to the plans of the Dutch architects Hans and Lorenz van Steenwinckel. With the construction of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, the brothers created a jewel of Renaissance architecture that still brings interested admirers to the small island today. The construction plan of the van Steenwinckel brothers was ambitious: first, countless oak trees had to be felled on the mainland, transported to the island and then driven into the boggy ground. From then on, they served as the foundations of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange!

After 21 years of construction, the stock exchange was ceremoniously opened in 1640 and the construction work was declared finished. Today, visitors are fascinated by the building's design details: not only are the richly decorated gables and oriels impressive, but the unusual spire also brings many a guest into deep rapture. The ridge turret represents four intertwined dragon tails and rises 56 meters into the Copenhagen sky. The three crowns represent one of the three kingdoms - Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Would you like to explore the island on your own? You can reach the island in the city centre of Copenhagen by public transport. Either use a water taxi that operates in the inner harbour or take the bus. Lines 40, 66 and 2A will take you to Slotsholmen Island. In addition, the metro station "Kongens Nytorv" is located in the immediate vicinity of the stock exchange.