On Friday the 8th of March, Melanie, Tom, and I went with ESN to visit the Spanish Stock Exchange! Our tour guide however, referred to it as the 'Palace' and it's really not surprising why. All original glass windows, decorated with minutely detailed etchings of crests and other highly meaningful symbols, surround the exchange floor from above, which is itself entirely floored in several varieties of real wood.
I'll be posting up the pictures soon, but in the meantime, enjoy a few fun facts:
- Beginning trade in 1831, the stock exchange in Spain had no permanent residence. It was held in houses, public buildings, and once even a circus.
- By 1893, the official Stock Exchange 'Palace' was open for use, only 62 years after Spain began trading. Better late than never.
- There are four official stock exchanges in Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, and Bilbao.
- In the Madrid Exchange, the original furniture was retained where possible--wood, chairs, rugs etc. Some things had to be refurbished of course, but for the most part, everything inside is original. Melanie sat down on the chair where the King presides over meetings--before we were told "that is forbidden!". Whoops.
- Only 80 total employees work at the Madrid Stock Exchange currently.
- Remember that the original glass from the 1800's has been kept? During the Spanish Civil War the building was at one point attacked and the bullet holes were left in the glass as a commemoration of the war. Be sure to check out the pictures I took of those.
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