Musical Instruments Museum (MIM), Brussels (must see)
The Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) is part of the Royal Museums of Art and History and is internationally renowned for one of the world's largest collections of musical artifacts, over 8,000. The museum highlights Belgian musical history, including Brussels鈥� significant role in developing early synthesizers like the Ondes Martenot and instruments by Belgian inventor and musician Adolphe Sax.
The MIM was founded in 1877, initially as part of the Royal Conservatory. The collection began with Indian instruments from Rajah Sourindro Mohun Tagore and a significant assembly from Belgian musicologist Fran莽ois-Joseph F茅tis. By 1924, the number of exhibits had grown impressively to over 3,500.
Post-World War I, the collection growth slowed but then saw renewed vigor in the 1950s. A major turning point came in the 1990s with the MIM's move to the former Old England department store. This Art Nouveau venue, completed in 1899, featuring girded steel and glass, reopened to the public in 2000.
The museum鈥檚 layout includes mechanical instruments in the basement, traditional instruments on the ground floor, and orchestral, keyboard, and stringed instruments on the upper floors. Visitors can explore sounds via infrared headphones and view notable items like the Rottenburgh Alto recorder, a unique set of giant Chinese stone chimes, and the only existing copy of the luth茅al, an instrument used by the French composer, pianist and conductor, Joseph Maurice Ravel.
Additionally, the museum hosts temporary exhibitions and concerts featuring modern musical innovators.
The MIM was founded in 1877, initially as part of the Royal Conservatory. The collection began with Indian instruments from Rajah Sourindro Mohun Tagore and a significant assembly from Belgian musicologist Fran莽ois-Joseph F茅tis. By 1924, the number of exhibits had grown impressively to over 3,500.
Post-World War I, the collection growth slowed but then saw renewed vigor in the 1950s. A major turning point came in the 1990s with the MIM's move to the former Old England department store. This Art Nouveau venue, completed in 1899, featuring girded steel and glass, reopened to the public in 2000.
The museum鈥檚 layout includes mechanical instruments in the basement, traditional instruments on the ground floor, and orchestral, keyboard, and stringed instruments on the upper floors. Visitors can explore sounds via infrared headphones and view notable items like the Rottenburgh Alto recorder, a unique set of giant Chinese stone chimes, and the only existing copy of the luth茅al, an instrument used by the French composer, pianist and conductor, Joseph Maurice Ravel.
Additionally, the museum hosts temporary exhibitions and concerts featuring modern musical innovators.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Brussels. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "51爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
Download The 51爆料网 App
Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) on Map
Sight Name: Musical Instruments Museum (MIM)
Sight Location: Brussels, Belgium (See walking tours in Brussels)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Brussels, Belgium (See walking tours in Brussels)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Brussels, Belgium
Create Your Own Walk in Brussels
Creating your own self-guided walk in Brussels is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Grand Place Walking Tour
World-famous for its imposing Baroque-style buildings, such as the Town Hall, the King's House and the House of Dukes, the Grand Place of Brussels a whole is indisputably a masterpiece of human creative genius, with a special quality of homogeneity and coherency.
The buildings around the Grand Place, all different but built within a very short period, admirably illustrate the Baroque... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.3 Km or 0.2 Miles
The buildings around the Grand Place, all different but built within a very short period, admirably illustrate the Baroque... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.3 Km or 0.2 Miles
The European Quarter Walking Tour
Along with Luxembourg and Strasbourg, Brussels is one of the European Union鈥檚 de facto capitals. The office blocks of the European Quarter are mainly concentrated along and between two wide boulevards 鈥� rue de la Loi and rue Belliard 鈥� which L茅opold II built to connect his Parc du Cinquantenaire with the city center.
Begin your exploration with the EU鈥檚 most symbolic construction, the... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.3 Km or 0.8 Miles
Begin your exploration with the EU鈥檚 most symbolic construction, the... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.3 Km or 0.8 Miles
Chocolate Tour in Brussels
Belgium is considered one of, if not the, best producer of chocolate in the world. The country's capital, Brussels abounds in opportunities to taste more than 2,000 different varieties of this delectable treat. There is a plethora of chocolate shops in the city which offer chocolates of all imaginable shapes, sizes and colors.
Plan猫te Chocolat鈥檚 chocolate-making demonstration make a... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.5 Km or 0.9 Miles
Plan猫te Chocolat鈥檚 chocolate-making demonstration make a... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.5 Km or 0.9 Miles
Brussels Historical Churches Walking Tour
As well as being Belgium鈥檚 political and cultural capital, Brussels is the spiritual home of its most significant churches. Historically, the city has been predominantly Roman Catholic, especially since the expulsion of Protestants in the 16th century. The pre-eminent Catholic temple here, located just a couple of minutes from the Grand-Place, is the Brabantine Gothic Cathedral of St. Michael... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.6 Km or 2.9 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.6 Km or 2.9 Miles
Brussels Introduction Walking Tour
Nowadays a major center for international politics, the capital of Belgium, Brussels, is often referred to as the "Crossroads of Europe". Indeed, nestled at the heart of the continent, this city has a history closely linked to that of Western Europe. Repeatedly changing hands between various duchies, empires, republics, and kingdoms, it has evolved from a small rural settlement to an... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
Brussels Beer Tour
Belgians are not very prone to boasting, except with things such as chocolate, fries and, evidently, beer. They treat beer the way the French treat wine: for the makers, it's a prized art; for the drinkers, it is something to be savored and discussed. They say that, on average, Belgians drink 150 liters of beer per year per person, and one would often see them sipping it from early in the... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles
Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip
Belgian Beer Tour of Brussels
Belgium is world-renowned for its beers and Brussels is the best city to sample the huge variety of flavors. We'll show you the best places to buy them and to drink them. We'll even show you a family brewery where the liquid gold is produced right in front of your eyes! This tour is meant...
What to Buy in Brussels: 14 Ideas for Travelers
It's no secret that Brussels is not all about JCVD muscles and EU headquarters. Small country as such, Belgium abounds in signature items, such as beer, chocolates and... the peeing boy. All of these have made prime Belgian souvenirs for years. Now you can explore the Brussels gift scene in...