Manneken Pis: the story

If you ever payed a visit to Belgium, or you’re planning to, your tourist guide will tell you to visit the statue of ‘Manneken Pis’. And yes, you read it right: the meaning has something to do with a man (actually a boy) and pis (like in: peeing).

In this article, I will tell you everything there is to know about the story of Manneken Pis, full name ‘Manneken Pis of Brussels’. I’ll also answer your frequently asked questions, like where you can find him and if it’s worth to pay him a visit.

Who or what is Manneken Pis?

If you want to know more about the Belgian Manneken Pis, you need to ask both questions: who is Manneken Pis and what is Manneken Pis.

Let me first answer you the what question. Manneken Pis is a statue. It’s a real life statue of a little boy, a toddler, of a couple of years old. But it’s not just any statue, it’s also a fountain. That’s right, the statue of the little boy spouts water. I presume you can guess where the water spouts from. Yes indeed: his penis. The boy-statue is actually continuously peeing.

That brings us to the who question. Because the reason why Manneken Pis is a statue of an urinating boy does have a reason that can be found in the historical background of the boy.

What does Manneken Pis represent: a history

The history of Manneken Pis is one of several legends. One of them is that the city of Brussels was under attack and a little boy peed on burning gun powder that was meant to explode to destroy the city walls. It’s a legend that also other city histories tell. Other legends tell about a missing child or a child that had a row with a witch. All of them presumably just tales.

A more plausible one tells us about Godfried III, duke of Brabant. His father died when he was only a couple of years old. But when a war broke out, the soldiers wanted to know who they were fighting for. The solution was to bring the basket with the small Godfried to the battlefield where he was visible, but where he also peed out of the basket, like all toddlers would do.

A more historical explanation is the fact that the location where the statue can be found nowadays, was the neighborhood of the former tanners. During the middle ages they used ammonia for their products. and they got the ammonia from…children’s urine.

Where is Manneken Pis located: the Manneken Pis adress

You can still find the Manneken Pis statue in the city of Brussels, capital of Belgium and also known for the Brussel sprouts. The fountain is located on the corner of the Stoofstraat and Eikstraat (the official Manneken Pis adress). It’s pretty close to the Grand Place, which you are probably also visiting during your trip to Brussels.

It’s from walking distance from the train station Brussels-Central. At this adress, you will see a fountain on the corner with the statue in the back.

How old is Manneken Pis?

The statue represents a toddler, a boy a couple of years old. But the bronze statue itself is dated back to 1619, created by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy.

Why is Manneken Pis famous?

It’s a good question. I mean, it’s a statue of a peeing boy. I think it’s a combination of history, the statue is several centuries old, the story, everybody loves a funny story about children, and city marketing.

The city also loves to dress up Manneken Pis. So why is the statue dressed up? Well, the city has a designated person to dress up the statue. This happens when there are special festivities. And this tradition already started in the 17th century. You can also visit the Brussels museum about Manneken Pis to see the collection of clothing he wore throughout history.

You can find an online overview of the clothing on the museum website. Here you see over more than 1000 costumes that the little boy wore.

Manneken Pis for sale

If you like the story of Manneken Pis, there is nothing to fear. Because you can buy a replica of the statue, big or small and even keychains, in almost every shop around the Brussels Grand Place.

You can also find the image of the statue on pillows, or made out of chocolate, on postcards and almost everything you can think of. The city of Brussels did her best to exploit their smallest but most famous citizen.

Manneken Pis museum

Close to the Grand Place, you can find the Manneken Pis museum.

As I already mentioned, you can find here the garderobe throughout history of the statue. It’s a small museum but fun to pay it a short visit, if you are interested in the fountain and statue though.

You can find more info about the museum via this link: Manneken Pis Museum Brussels

Let me know what you thought of the fountain and statue if you ever pay him a visit! Because if you would ever visit Belgium, the capital of Brussels is a must see, and in Brussels you should walk a bit further to see it’s most famous citizen. Have fun!

Sources and further reading:
Wikipedia
City of Brussels
Pictures
pexels.com