Il-Borza ta’ Malta

Il-Borza ta’ Malta

Il-Borza ta’ Malta, or the Malta Stock Exchange, has been housed at the former Garrison Chapel building adjacent to the Auberge de Castille,  right outside the entrance to the Upper Barrakka Gardens, since 1999.

Il-Borza ta’ Malta was initially constituted under the responsibility of Malta’s Central Bank. Today, however, it falls under the authority of the Malta Financial Services Authority and remains focused on developing and supporting the domestic financial market and attracting international companies to list on the Exchange.

Il-Borza ta’ Malta – aka the Garrison Chapel

The Garrison Chapel building was built by the British with a dual purpose in mind. During the week it served as school for the education of the children of British military and naval personnel. On Sundays it was transformed into a multi-denominational place of worship, at the behest of Queen Adelaide, who was known to be a very devout woman. During a visit to Malta she had in fact expressed concern at the fact that troops stationed on the island had no specific place of worship. 

The Garrison Chapel was designed and built by Royal Engineers. Towards the 1870s, it stopped being used both as place of worship and as school and, eventually, the building was taken over by the Malta Post Office. It served as Central Mailing Room until 1999, when the Malta Stock Exchange took over and initiated a restoration process.

The new design managed to conserve the building’s original features, including the outer shell and the terrace that forms part of the 17th century bastion wall.