The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is the main stock exchange of Germany and one of the largest in Europe, and it traces its origins to the sixteenth century, when merchants in the free imperial city of Frankfurt met to trade goods and currencies at the time of the great trade fairs. A formal exchange for currencies was set up in 1585 to bring order to the many coins in circulation. The city later became a center of banking, helped by families such as the Rothschilds, and the exchange developed into a market for securities. Since 1992 it has been operated by Deutsche Börse, which also runs the electronic Xetra trading system and the DAX index of the leading German companies. Frankfurt remains the seat of the European Central Bank.
Before and after
- from 1583 to 1588Cologne War
- from c. 1583 to 1997British Empire
- from 26 July 1583 to 2 August 1583Conquest of the Azores
- 18 March 1584Death of Ivan the Terrible
- 1585Founding of Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- from 1585 to 1604Anglo-Spanish War
- 9 September 1585Birth of Armand-Jean du Plessis, duc de Richelieu
- from 1587 to 1589War of the Three Henrys
- from 12 April 1587 to 6 July 1587Singeing the King of Spain's Beard
More in Society, economy & sport
- 1583Founding of University of Edinburgh
- 5 November 1605Gunpowder Plot
- 1701Founding of Yale University
- 1746Founding of Princeton University
- 25 May 1754Founding of Columbia University
- 12 January 1755Founding of Lomonosov Moscow State University
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.