MANNEKEN PIS (LITTLE PEEING BOY) SYMBOL OF BRUSSELS

There are several stories about the statue of  Manneken Pis (Peeing little man). I only know this story :

Manneken Pis is actually the young Duke Godfrey III of Leuven. When he was two years old, his father died and two noblemen from the house of Berthout declared war. Godfrey’s guardians asked the Count of Flanders for help. The Count agreed, and placed little Godfrey in a basket that hung from an oak tree as a symbol of encouragement for the troops. And encourage them he did – every now and then the little Godfrey stood up and peed on the heads of the enemies. Godfrey’s allies won the battle and celebrated in Brussels, where they planted the oak tree. Legend states that this is why the street next to Manneken Pis is named Rue du Chêne, meaning ‘oak street.’ And, of course, next to the oak, they erected a statue of the young peeing lord. 

It’s a tradition in Brussels to dress Manneken Pis at special occasions. His wardrobe, which contains more than 1000 costumes including the expensive outfit gifted by Louis XV of France, is kept at the Maison du Roi. 

The first clothes Manneken Pis ever received were gifted by Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, who was the governor of the Austrian Netherlands. As well as historical clothing, the wardrobe also contains modern costumes, such as a Mickey Mouse, Elvis, Michael Jackson and many more.

Between 1919 and 1940, Manneken-Pis received one new outfit each year. After World War II, Manneken Pis' wardrobe grew on average by five to fifteen outfits per year. And by the 1980s, the number of costumes rose to twenty-five. Today, around 20 to 30 new outfits are added on an annual basis. Here are the some of his costumes.

 

 

The whole year long tourists from all over the world look for Manneken Pis ! Often they just stand in front of him but don't see him. It happened often to me that I pointed out that he stands just behind them in the corner ! And always hear the same comment : Wow ! is he small, it's like a doll, I imagined a little boy ! But his pee is "normal". Sometimes on a certain occasion he even pees beer !