15/50.- Brussels, Coudenberg

The Coudenberg winds its way up from the city centre to the Place Royale, which will be shown in the next picture. The modern fountain in the foreground, with its revolving sculpture, is a legacy of the 1958 World Fair. The wrought-iron Art Nouveau building on the left used to be an expensive English clothes shop. The building, preserved because of its exclusive style, now hosts the Museum of Musical Instruments (MIM) and has in a very short time become a landmark attracting thousands of visitors. It displays famous virginals and harpsichords of the Antwerp school, as well as original instruments manufactured by Adolphe Sax, the Belgian inventor of the saxophone. On the right, a wing of the Museum of Modern Art. The church in the background is Saint James-on-Coudenberg. The nave and choir protrude into the Royal Palace grounds, but this is not where the Royal Family worships.

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