Leipzig Alte Handelsbörse – Leipzig’s Old Stock Exchange

Leipzig Alte Handelsbörse Was The Old Trading Exchange for the City’s Merchants:

Alte Handelsbörse © Travel Signposts

Just behind the Leipzig Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall) at Naschmarkt 4 is one of my favourite Leipzig buildings, the Leipzig Alte Handelsbörse or Old Stock Exchange. By comparison to other Leipzig buildings, the Alte Handelsbörse is small in proportion and its symmetrical front portal with the twin staircase gives it a rather ‘cute’ look.

Designed by Johann Georg Starcke and completed in 1687, the Alte Handelsbörse is one of the oldest Baroque buildings in Leipzig. It served as a trading exchange for the Leipzig merchants, a place where they could meet to discuss trade, hold auctions and exchange contracts in a neutral space.

It carried on as a trading exchange until 1886 when a new stock exchange was built. The Alte Handelsbörse then became the meeting hall for the Leipzig town council.

Although the Alte Handelsbörse was destroyed during the Second World War, it was totally reconstructed and finally completed in 1962. These days the building is used for small events, lectures and concerts.

In front of Alte Handelsbörse is the unmistakable sculpture of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who studied in Leipzig from 1765 to 1768.

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