Earlier this month, I visitd the city of Brussels. The Manneken Pis fountain statue is one of the attractions of Brussels, and it has become the icon of the city. It has inspired popular culture and attracts tourists to the city. The fountain statue is, of course, of the little boy peeing. Manneken Pis has his own wardrobe and inspired two additional peeing sculptures: Janneke Pis and Zinneke Pis. The little peeing boy is well-loved in Brussels. During the year, he also wears outfits to coincide with special days or due to donations from other countries, and there's a museum dedicated to his wardrobe a few doors down.
The statue itself is actually very small in size, and you'd miss it if you were not paying any attention. Due to vandals, the statue is protected by a fence and by cameras as it has previously been damaged and stolen. The history of the statue began sometime in the mid-1400s. The original statue (or one of the originals dating from 1619) is located in the city's museum, and the one on display is a replica.
I visited Brussels in the early part of February. On the first day, the Manneken Pis was nude. I was expecting a Chinese New Year costume on the second day, but he did not get one. Instead, he got a Oruro Carnival outfit for Bolivia 'Diablada', which I photographed below.
The next day, I visited Manneken Pis to see if he would have a different outfit. He was wearing the 112 costume, which is an emergency telephone number in Europe. This is a campaign costume.
Jeanneke Pis is the female version of Manneken Pis, but she is not as popular. She is located on the other side of the city north of the main square and built into a wall. She is also a fountain and features a girl squatting down and peeing. Like Manneken Pis, Jeanneke Pis also has different outfits.
I saw her in her Oruro Carnival outfit for Bolivia. The costume isn't nearly as complex as Manneke Pis.
The last peeing statue is of a peeing dog, but this is not a fountain. Zinneke Pis is outside the main central area of Brussels and features a dog lifting its leg over a bollard.
A visit to the Manneke Pis Garderobe Museum is included in the cost of the visit to the city museum, which I visited earlier in the day. The city museum has a room dedicated to Manneke Pis and his history along with a few of his outfits on display and the original Manneke Pis statue from 1619. The Manneken Pis Garderobe Museum features several of the costumes on display. They are arranged by country, special theme, and popular culture.
One of the first outfits was donated by Louis XVI of France, who was at war with the region that is now Brussels. There is a replica of the costume since the original one is very fragile.
In the popular culture section, I saw icons such as Mickey Mouse and Asterix from the comics.
I actually enjoyed seeing what Manneken Pis would be wearing that day during my visit to Brussels.
Leave a comment