Korenbeurs, Groningen

In the middle ages laws said all the grain from the entire province had to be brought to the city to be sold. But when cattle plague made it difficult for farmers to keep cattle most switched to grain around 1750. The amount of grain became to much and trading was done with a sample of the harvest only. For this purpose the first grain exchange was built. It was only a small wooden building. A few years later a bigger exchange was built on the same place at the Vismarkt. But as the grain market grew it soon became to small and cityarchitect J.G. van Beusekom got an assigment to built a permanent exchange. In 1865 the building was put in use. It looks like a temple with Mercurius on top, Neptune and Ceres at both sides. This ancient gods symbolise the meaning of trade, sea and agriculture for Groningen.
The building is still used for trading 50% of the grain, but there is ample space for other activities now.

The Korenbeurs is yet another building what you should see. At market days it's a meeting point for many.