Description of the attraction
The Lonja de la Seda Stock Exchange is located in the old quarter of Valencia, on the market square. This is a complex of buildings that was originally used for trade. Built between 1482 and 1548, this complex is a true architectural masterpiece in the late Gothic style. This period was characterized for Valencia by a real flourishing of trade. It was during this period that Valencia became one of the largest trading cities on the Mediterranean coast.
By the middle of the 15th century, trade in the city had reached such proportions that the government decided to build new shopping areas that could meet the growing needs of the city. The acquisition of the land necessary for this purpose was carried out only by 1482, at the same time the construction of a new trade facility began.
The design and construction was carried out by the architect Pedro Compte, who designed the Cathedral of Valencia. Joan Ivarra, Joan Corbera, Miguel de Magagna and Domingo de Urtiaga worked with him on the creation of a new shopping complex.
In the plan there is a stock exchange building with a total area of 2000 sq. m., has a rectangular shape. Massive facades of the stock exchange with battlements crowned with royal crowns, narrow, soaring windows, beautiful bas-reliefs make it look like a majestic medieval tower.
Valencia's famous stock exchange includes the Main Tower, which housed the prison where thieves were kept, the Consular Corps, where Valencia's first commercial tribunal sat, the Orange Courtyard and the spacious Trading Hall. The trading hall, divided by columns, is richly decorated: its floor is paved with marble, inscriptions in Latin flaunts on the walls, and the windows are decorated with statues of gargoyles. The ceiling is decorated with the image of the four shields of the Aragonese crown.
Since 1996, Valencia Stock Exchange has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
