Palais de la Bourse, Neoclassical former commodities exchange in Nantes, France
Palais de la Bourse is a neoclassical trading building located in Place du Commerce that was constructed over several decades starting in 1790. Its western facade features ten ionic columns and allegorical statues created by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Debay.
Mathurin Crucy began the building on 1 July 1790, but the Revolution halted work with only the shell finished and no roof. Napoleon I's measures after his 1808 visit to Nantes allowed construction to resume; the building was completed in 1811, and the sculptures by Robinot-Bertrand and De Bay were installed in 1812. The chamber of commerce, founded in 1803, occupied it from 1815.
The statues on the facade were carved by Nantes sculptors Charles-Guillaume Robinot-Bertrand and Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Debay père and installed in 1812, a year after the building was finished. The site was the Port-au-Vin, where shipowners moved their trade from the Bouffay in the Middle Ages. The building later housed the chamber of commerce founded in 1803, which occupied it from 1815.
The building sits in central Nantes and is easily reached on foot from nearby attractions. Today it houses a Fnac retail store, making it accessible to visitors exploring the city center.
The site was originally washed to the south by a Loire arm, the future "bras de la Bourse", where merchant ships reached the port of Nantes. Shipyards occupied the spot until 1583, when they moved west. The square was later raised and enlarged, and split in two by the Chapelle Saint-Julien.
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