Created in 1801 by decree of Napoleon, the Stock Exchange (French: Bourse de Commerce) established in Brussels successively occupied different premises.

[2] From 1858, a time when it experienced considerable development following the country's economic and industrial growth, the cramped and unsanitary conditions of the various premises led the business community to demand, from the municipal authorities, the erection of a new stock exchange.

[3] Following the covering of the river Senne for health and aesthetic reasons between 1867 and 1871, a massive programme of beautification of Brussels' city centre was undertaken.

[5][6][7] The building was inaugurated with a large ball in the presence of King Leopold II, his wife Queen Marie Henriette, and his brother Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders.

[18] It has an abundance of ornaments and sculptures, created by famous artists, including the brothers Jacques and Jean-Joseph Jacquet, the French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and his then-assistant Auguste Rodin.

Some of the best examples are the group of four allegorical figures on the façade by Guillaume de Groot, symbolising Art, Agriculture, Industry and Science, as well as the friezes by Carrier-Belleuse, in which Rodin may have contributed.

[4] Towards the boulevard, the two allegorical lion sculptures by Jacquet on each side of the main entrance's monumental staircase (one with its head facing up, the other curved back) represent the two symbolic stock market trends (akin to the famous "bull and bear" metaphor), as well as the Belgian Nation.

[3][19] A large arched skylight was pierced through the centre of the side façades by the architect Jules Brunfaut in 1893 in order to bring more light into the interior.

[19] The inside pediment separating the main hall from the entrance vestibule on the Rue du Midi/Zuidstraat includes four caryatids by Rodin and Antoine van Rasbourg [nl], symbolising Protection, Trade, Art and Victory, with above them a globe carried by two putti.