Brussels : Day 2 - Manneken Pis

People said "you are not in Brussels until you see the Manneken Pis" (little pee man in Flemish).  it is located close to the Grand Place on rue de l’Etuve. The peeing boy is a tiny bronze fountain statue which stands at just 61cm (24 inches)

 

the kids were more interested in having chocolate drink and chocolate coated strawberries from the shop opposite the statue..

The legend of Manneken Pis

According to one of them a little boy had watered against the door of a witch who lived where the fountain now stands. The witch was so angry that she turned the little boy into a statue. Another legend says that a man had lost his little son. He found the child after two days near the place where now the fountain of manneken-pis can be seen. When the father spotted his child, the latter was peeing. As a token of gratitude the father had the fountain with a statue of a peeing boy constructed. (source : trabel.com)

The Origin of Mannekin PisHistory tells us that in the 15th century there was a fountain called “Manneken-Pis” about a hundred yards from the Grand Place. In August of 1619, sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy was commissioned by the city to sculpt a new bronze statue of a Manneken-Pis to replace an old statue.

The little tike has survived nearly 400 years of trials and tribulations, having been stolen by prankster students, looted by invaders, and in war time, hidden during bombing raids. Even after all that, he remains Belgium's best-dressed boy with a wardrobe of more than 800 costumes including outfits giving nods to: Napolean, the Boy Scouts, Saint Nicholas and even Elvis. Costumes are kept in the King's House, now the City Museum at the Grand-Place. (source : Brussels-Belgium-travel guide.com)