Photo: Paul Hermans · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Muziekmuseum Vleeshuis

Music museum in the late-Gothic Vleeshuis in Antwerp, with instruments and bells; closed for renovation of the building.

Temporarily closed

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Temporarily closed. The museum has been closed since September 2024 for restoration of the building; the works start in autumn 2026. During the closure there are, among other things, guided climbs of the cathedral tower, a temporary workspace at Gildekamersstraat 9 overlooking the writing hut of Wannes Van de Velde, and an online offer.

About the museum

The Vleeshuis in Antwerp was originally a covered market where butchers sold meat. Around 1250 a first Vleeshuis already stood by the Steen. Between 1501 and 1504 the butchers’ guild had a new late-Gothic building erected to a design by Herman de Waghemakere, with room for 62 butchers, a cellar and a chapel. After the guilds were abolished in 1795, the building was used mainly as a warehouse and later as a studio and theatre hall.

Between 1901 and 1913 the city had the building restored, and in 1913 it opened as a museum. The first collection included archaeology and applied art as well as musical instruments. From 1967 the musical instruments came to the fore, partly thanks to a large loan from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen. In 2006 the museum reopened as “Klank van de Stad”, dedicated to music. Since 2025 it has been called Muziekmuseum Vleeshuis.

The collection includes, among other things, the storm bell Orida (1316) and harpsichords by the Antwerp Ruckers family. The museum also manages the city carillon of the cathedral. Since September 2024 it has been closed for a thorough restoration of the monument.