Manneken Pis

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Coordinates: 50°50′42″N, 4°21′00″E

Manneken Pis of Brussels in the nude.
Manneken Pis of Brussels in the nude.
The surroundings of the Manneken Pis, giving an idea of its size.
The surroundings of the Manneken Pis, giving an idea of its size.

Manneken Pis (Dutch for little man pee) is a Brussels landmark. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin.

On many occasions the statue is dressed in a costume. His wardrobe now consists of several hundred different costumes. The costumes are changed according to a schedule managed by the non-profit association The Friends of Manneken-Pis, in ceremonies that are often accompanied by brass band music.

Since 1987, the Manneken has had a female equivalent, Jeanneke Pis.

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[edit] Legends and history

There are several legends behind this statue, but the most famous is the one about Duke Godfrey III of Leuven. In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (now Neder-over-Heembeek). The troops put the infant lord in a basket and hung it in a tree, to encourage them. From there, he urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle.

Another legend goes like this: In the 14th century; Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held their ground for quite some time. The attackers had thought of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls. A little boy named Juliaanske from Brussels happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city.

There was already a similar statue made of stone in the middle of the 15th century, perhaps as early as 1388. The statue was stolen several times. In 1619 it was replaced by a bronze statue, created by Franco-Flemish Baroque sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy, father of the more famous François.

The Manneke Pis of Geraardsbergen.
The Manneke Pis of Geraardsbergen.

[edit] Other Manneken Pis statues

Although the Manneken Pis van Brussel is the best-known, others exist. Similar statues can be found in the Belgian cities of Geraardsbergen, Hasselt, Ghent and in the North French village of Broxeele, a town with the same etymology as Brussels.

There is an ongoing dispute over which Manneken Pis is the oldest - the one in Brussels or the one in Geraardsbergen.

[edit] Replicas

In many countries, replicas in brass or fiberglass are commonplace swimming- or garden-pool decorations. Manneken Pis has also been adapted as a risqué souvenir corkscrew.

In September 2002 a Belgian waffle-maker in Florida set up a replica in front of his waffle stand in the Orlando Fashion Square mall in Orlando, Florida. The Belgian owner recalled the legend as 'the boy who saved Brussels from fire by extinguishing it with his urine' (confusing the legend with an incident in Gulliver's Travels perhaps). Some shocked shoppers made a formal complaint. Mall officials said that the waffle-shop owner Assayag did not follow procedures when he put up the statue and was in violation of his lease.

In contrast to this reaction, there is another replica of the statue in Rio de Janeiro, in front of the quarters of Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, a famous football club from Brazil. There, the presence of the statue is taken lightly, and the statue has even been adopted as a mascot by the club. The fans usually dress it with the club's jersey after important wins.

In the Netherlands, there is a small chain of chip shops called Manneken Pis.

Many more copies exist worldwide as garden ornaments.

[edit] Fictional appearances

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Comic books:

Films:

Video games:

Other:

  • In the Carmen Sandiego episode Little Boy Lost, Top Grunge steals Manneken Pis.

[edit] External links

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