Bourse - Palais des congress - Namur

This is the former Bourse de Commerce, now the Palais des Congrès.

On the north side of the Place d'Armes, in line with the Rue du Pont, stands this massive building of brick and limestone in a mainly neo-baroque eclectic style . It dates from 1932 and was designed by É. Dickschen. The large dormer window has a head of Mercury, the god of trade.

The interior features Art Deco bas-reliefs by Lucien Guyaux.

From 1979 to 1995, the Bourse de Commerce served as the parliament building. Today, the Walloon government is based in the old Hospice Saint-Gilles at the foot of the Citadel. During the Second World War, the building, like many other buildings on the place d'Armes, was destroyed during a bombardment and was restored in the years that followed.

Willem Vandenameele