Manneken Pis

You see that crowd gathering at the corner of the street? No surprise, you’re now face to face with Belgium’s little celebrity: the famous Manneken Pis. You probably imagined him a bit taller, but he’s only 60 cm! The statue you see here is actually a replica—the original is safely kept in a museum. So where did the idea of a peeing statue even come from? There are plenty of quirky legends, but I’ll share only two that are particularly amusing. The first says that a little boy, needing to go, unknowingly relieved himself against a witch’s door. Outraged, she turned him into a statue, condemning him to stay like this forever. The second, is a little more heroic, during a siege, the city was on the verge of being blown up when a young boy noticed a lit fuse. With no water in sight, he used the only solution he had to extinguish it. Either way, the statue playfully represents freedom, rebellion, and carefree spirit. You may have noticed that he’s left-handed—which was a deliberate nod to challenging norms back then. Apparently, there used to be another stone statue in the past, but the only reliable record dates back to this bronze version, cast in 1619. Following tradition, Manneken Pis is sometimes dressed up, and he has such an extensive wardrobe that there’s an entire museum dedicated to it, which you can visit just down the road on Rue du Chêne. You can’t miss it—you’ll spot a large colourful graffiti of a modern-day Manneken.