While in Europe I wanted to see some places other than Paris. This led me to take a day trip to Brussels. I knew very little about Brussels before going but once I got off the train it was clear that there was one thing I had to see. Almost everywhere was advertised a little statue of a peeing baby.
Known as Manneken Pis, Dutch for little peeing man, this fountain is exactly what it says, a little boy peeing out a fountain. According to various sources online, the statue is probably from the 16th or 17th century and there are various stories about why it was built.
(Apparently he gets dressed up for holidays.)
Some say that it was built by a wealthy man visiting the city who lost his son and was so happy to finally find him peeing on this street that he made a statue of it. Another story says that it was made to commemorate a little boy who foiled a plot to blow the city up by peeing on the fuse of the gun powder. Honestly I think that no one really knows why this weird little statue was made makes it even better.
The other thing I loved about Manneken Pis is how much Brussels loves him. It’s impossible to look in any tourist shop and not see him everywhere. I found everything from bottle openers of him to a two story tall mural. The fact that he is embraced as an essential tourist destination in this beautiful European city with so much to offer makes me love Brussels even more. These are just some of the pictures of all the Mannken Pis stuff that I could find, enjoy.
Hey Jenna, honestly you have me excited to go to Brussels now, it seems like the Peeing Baby is the Eiffel Tower of Brussels and I can’t wait to see how the city milks that dry
That is amazing that Brussels has this. I thought the bottle opener was the best. I agree, not knowing the story behind the statue makes it mysterious and visitors and residents can have fun and make up their own stories behind the peeing baby statue. Thank you for sharing.