Maison de Monsieur Sax, Dinant

We awoke to yet another overcast day but we were determined to see Dinant and what it had to offer. First up was Maison de Monsieur Sax, the home of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone. It was here in Dinant that he was born in 1814 and he invented the saxophone in early 1840s, and after reading up on his history it seems he was lucky to live long enough to even make that invention. Some people are just meant to be.

He is probably the only person more clumsy than Brad and he survived almost 10 near death experiences as a child. Some of his near misses included falling from a 3rd story window, gunpowder explosions, falling roof tiles striking him on the head, falling into a fire, poisoning and near asphyxiation.

Later in life he suffered lip cancer, had several legal battles over patents of the saxophone that he invented, was declared bankrupt three times, subsequently dying aged 79 of pneumonia in Paris, in poverty.

Dinant is quite proud of their “son” and there are saxophone statues and monuments throughout this small town.Read more