Manneken Pis

A fountain with a statue of a little boy peeing. The Manneke Pis is in Brussels, Belgium, so if you're ever there, go see it! The statue is actually pretty small (maybe two-or-three feet tall). It stands on a pedestal in a giant alcove, six-feet up and behind a fence. It was made in 1619 by Jerome Duquesnoy(?). There are many stories about the statue, but the one I heard was that the boy is a hero who saved the town by putting out a fire by peeing on it.

I think this might very well be the best statue in all of Europe. Okay, it's not Michaelangelo's David or Rodin's The Thinker, but it's a wonderful little work nevertheless. I understand that the Manneke Pis is one of the tokens in the pan-European version of Monopoly.

Update: Professor Pi points out that Manneken Pis is more common (even though I've always used "Manneken Pis").

Manneken Pis, A legend among Belgians

Manneken Pis, located in the Belgian capital Brussels, is perhaps one of Belgium's most famous works of art. Manneken Pis is a small bronze statue displayed in the centre of Brussels. As he stands above the crowd with his legs spread, he pisses proudly into the wind.

On special occasions such as, for example, christmas: Manneken Pis is covered with a tiny santa clause costume with its zipper open. When I read the figures I believe his wardrobe exists out of several hundred costumes.

The most famous legend of Manneken Pis is the one where he appears to be the Duke of Brabant. When the 2 year old Lord's troops had to do battle, they placed him in a basket and put it on the branch of a tree, nearby the battle field. As the battle progressed, this very young duke started pissing on the enemy to encourage his troops! Eventually the Duke's troops won the battle.

The original statue(made of stone),was believed to be created around the 15th century and was stolen several times since. In the year of 1619 it was replaced by the bronze statue, that we can now visit in Brussels. Similar to the bronze statue of Manneken Pis is the female Jeanneke Pis Statue located nearby the statue of Manneken Pis.