The story of Manneken Pis

You may be surprised by how small he is: Manneken Pis stands just 55.5 cm tall, yet he is one of the best-known symbols of Brussels and Belgium. A fountain like this is already mentioned in a document from 1451, when it played a real role in supplying drinking water.

The bronze boy you see goes back to a design by the sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder, put in place in 1619. He survived the French bombardment of 1695 undamaged, though the pipes were hit and the water stopped for a while; a pamphlet that year already called him renowned throughout the world. His blue stone niche dates from 1770. The statue has been stolen or damaged many times, so since 1965 a replica stands here, while the original is kept in the Brussels City Museum.

Locals call him the oldest citizen of Brussels. He is regularly dressed up, and his wardrobe holds around one thousand costumes, shown since 2017 in a museum on this same street.