The term bourse is related to the 13th-century inn named "Huis ter Beurze" owned by family in Bruges, Belgium, where traders and foreign merchants from across Europe, especially the Italian Republics of Genoa, Florence and Venice, conducted business in the late medieval period.Bourse. Online Etymology Dictionary The building, which was established by Robert van der Beurze as a hostelry, had operated from 1285. Its managers became famous for offering judicious financial advice to the traders and merchants who frequented the building. This service became known as the "Beurze Purse" which is the basis of bourse, meaning an organized place of exchange. Eventually, the building became solely a place for trading in commodities.
