Musical Instruments Museum (MIM)

The Musical Instruments Museum in central Brussels is a must-visit for anybody interested in the history of keyboard instruments. A truly incredible collection, the representation of unusual keyboards of all kinds leaves you amazed at the history of human skill, artistry and innovation. We get used to seeing extremely ornately decorated harpsichords, becoming true works of art in themselves with full landscapes, historical and mythical scenes painted in exacting detail. Seeing so many in one place leaves one slightly overwhelmed! Many of these instruments are Flemish, built by the Ruckers dynasty of harpsichord builders in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But it is most fascinating to see that the tradition of highly decorated keyboard instruments continued in the Belgian lands, with even some of these late nighteenth century upright pianos challenging the harpsichords in terms of splendour!