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Börse Berlin AG (or Berlin Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Berlin, Germany, founded in 1685 through an edict of Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm and is one of the oldest exchanges in Germany.

History

The Berlin Stock Exchange was founded on June 29, 1685 by Elector Friedrich Wilhelm. The first trading session took place on February 25, 1739. First, the upper floor of the former Lusthaus in the Lustgarten next to the Berlin Cathedral in direct proximity to Berliner Stadtschloss was used before 1798 in favour of a new building for the stock exchange at the same place was demolished. The bearer of the stock exchange was from 1803 the United Stock Exchange Corporation, from 1820 the newly founded corporation of merchants. The building located in the Burgstraße 25–26 on the other side of the Spree was built from 1859 to 1863 by Friedrich Hitzig and opened on 1 October 1863. Because of its location in Burgstrasse, the Berlin Stock Exchange was also called "The Burgstrasse". The total cost of the construction was 700,000 Thaler. Economically, until the beginning of the First World War, the Berlin Stock Exchange was one of the three most important in the world – after London and next to New York. With the general mobilization of Russia on July 30, 1914, the beginning of the First World War, it was initially completely closed. The unrestricted free market was resumed only on November 2, 1917.

In 1920, when the corporation of the Kaufmannschaft merged after one hundred years of existence in the Berlin Chamber of Commerce founded in 1902, the sponsorship of the stock exchange passed on to the latter. In 1922, the Stock Index of the Statistical Office was calculated for the first time, based on the average price level of around 300 representative shares of the Berlin Stock Exchange. Wirtschaftsrundfunk, an agency for business news, had an office in the stock market. The Black Friday on May 13, 1927 caused the stock index on the stock exchange to collapse by 31.9 percent. ^[1] At the end of 1926, 917 public companies were traded on the Stock Exchange, end of 1932 It was 659. By 1943, the number of listed companies dropped to 450.^[2] The Second World War in 1943 led to suspension of the price determination by the Statistical Reichsamt.

On May 24, 1944, the stock exchange building burned down after being hit in an air raid, the ruins were demolished in 1957 and 1958.^[3] For a long time, a few visible parts of the building (pillar parts, façade decoration) lay behind a construction fence that was still under construction from 2001 onwards.

Börse Berlin after the Second World War

**Börse Berlin** headquarters in Ludwig-Erhard-Haus designed by Nicholas Grimshaw.

After the war, the Berlin Stock Exchange in West Berlin was reopened. Nevertheless, with all major corporations and banks leaving the city, the stock market never regained the importance it had before the war.

In order to address internationalization and growing consolidation pressure, Börse Berlin has pursued a niche strategy since the mid-nineties, with a particular focus on trading the widest range of foreign stocks and bonds.

In September 2007 Börse Berlin takes a majority stake in EASDAQ NV which operates under the brand Equiduct. With the pan-European market model of Equiduct, Börse Berlin re-positioned itself as a start-up. The key requirement of MiFID – best execution – is guaranteed by Equiduct, order by order. The launch of the Equiduct market place took place on March 20, 2009.

On July 21, 2009 Equiduct entered into a strategic partnership with Citadel Securities, a division of Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C.. The agreement between Citadel Securities and Börse Berlin AG will provide funding to Equiduct for developing its platform. Equiduct will continue to be operated by Börse Berlin AG, trading takes place on the newly created market segment (B.S.R.M.) or Berlin Second Regulated Market.

In October 2019 the stock exchange operator Tradegate Exchange GmbH announces the completion of an asset deal to acquire 100 percent of the shares in the Berlin Börse AG, the operating company of the traditional Berlin Stock Exchange and the London-based platform, Equiduct. In return the previous owner of the Berlin Börse AG, the Verein Berliner Börse e.V., receives a stake in the Tradegate Exchange GmbH. In future the three exchanges geared to the needs of private investors Tradegate Exchange, Börse Berlin and Equiduct will be operated and further developed under one roof.

The Exchange Council of Börse Berlin appointed Ms. Friederike von Hofe as Managing Director of Börse Berlin with effect from August 1, 2020. Also, with effect from August 1, 2020, the Supervisory Board of the sponsoring company appointed Ms von Hofe as a member of the Executive Board of Börse Berlin AG.

Until June 2022 Börse Berlin had its headquarters in Ludwig-Erhard-Haus designed by Nicholas Grimshaw at the Fasanenstraße 85 in the district Charlottenburg. Since June 2022 Börse Berlin has been located at Kurfürstendamm, a well-known boulevard in Berlin.

References

^ Friday The Black Friday . In: The Time, No. 14/1967.
^ Deutsche Bundesbank: German money and banking in numbers 1876–1975. Fritz Knapp publishing house, Frankfurt / Main 1976, ISBN 3781901653.
^ Götz Eckardt (ed.) And others: Fates of German monuments in the Second World War . Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin 1978, vol. 1, p. 45