Manneken Pis

have you ever heard of Manneken Pis? It means “Lil’ Liddler” and is a well-known landmark that resides in Brussels. It’s a Bronze statue that sits in the middle of the city and take the form of a young boy who openly peeing in the nude. The peeing statue is of course a water fountain, an interesting concept indeed. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little when I came to understand exactly what Manneken Pis was. In summary, the peeing child is a symbol of Brussels and is known by all throughout the area. This really shows the humour of people in Brussels and it’s not something that I could receive with any displeasure.

Here we can see the fountain statue that sits as it always has with some added clothing, perhaps for comic relief some may think. This is actually a tradition in Brussels and is managed by an organisation known as ‘The Friends of Manneken Pis”, how awesome! The bespoke costumes go through a screening process throughout the year and the organisation will select the best designs that they feel are suitable for the little statue. Interestingly, the outfit selection far exceeds my wardrobe and totals to over a thousand choices that have all been donned by our little friend at some point. A stylish one indeed. To top it all off, Brussels opened its very own museum for these outfits and they can be viewed at Garderobe Manneken Pis. There are tonnes of outfits here and it shows how iconic this little urinating toddler is in Brussels.

The statue that one will see today is actually a replica and the original has been safely stored away in a museum. After all, that is definitely a national symbol worth preserving! I really came to love Manneken Pis and thought it was super cute to see all these interesting and colourful outfits. From modern 20th century designs to historic attire. Designers had really brought Manneken Pis to all walks of time.

As a tourist, it is hard not to notice Manneken Pis. Even if one is not aware of him initially, they will definitely come to see him at least a handful of times. Most likely more. There are souvenirs, food stalls and even huge walls of graffiti featuring little Pis. So when one heads out to travel to Brussels next time and is faced with a statue of a urinating toddler, simply smile and say “Manneken Pis”!