The Copenhagen Stock Exchange

Saturday, April 3, 2010 (Part 2):

From Slotsholmen, we crossed the street and walked around the old stock exchange building, called the Borsen. The building is not open to the public, but it has a really interesting history and is pretty neat just to view from the outside. The building is many hundreds of years old and, like so many places in Copenhagen, was at one time almost completely surrounded by water. This was intentional and made it easy for merchants to buy and sell wares from boats as they pulled in and out of the exchange.

To me, the most interesting feature of the Borsen is its tower. Twisted up the spire on this central tower are four dragons. Their heads hang down over the edge of the base of

the tower and their tails wrap around the spire up to its topmost point. It's really unique. By the way, there seem to be an abundance of dragons and serpents depicted around Copenhagen. It must have something to do with the city's Nordic sea-faring past. Who knows!

I should mention, if not already apparent from the pictures, that the weather on this day was really wonderful. It was a clear, sunny day. It was also a bit on the chilly side, but the full sun kept us warm.