One of the coolest things about Brussels is the little peeing boy statue named "Manneken Pis", probably the most famous Belgian landmark of all time.
In pictures, he looks like he is life-sized, but in actuality he is really only less than 2 feet tall. My first reaction when I saw him was, "This is it??" That's ok though...it is still pretty cool, even if he is small. Size really doesn't matter when it comes to this little guy. Here's a run-down:
In 1618, a French sculpter created the statue out of bronze, which was based on a similar stone version that had been stolen years before. No one knows the exact significance of the boy and his peeing, although there have been many theories. For instance, according to one legend, a rampant fire was raging through Brussels many centuries ago, and in an attempt to help extinguish it, a small boy started peeing on it. Another legend says that an infertile couple finally conceived a child, and right after he was born, he peed on the pastor who baptized him. Yet another legend suggests that the boy actually symbolizes a 2-year-old duke in the year 1187, whose troops were battling an enemy group. Supposedly the infant was placed in a basket and tied to a tree as encouragement for the troops, and as nature called, he answered.
Another widely accepted version is that a small boy was often seen relieving himself in this particular corner, whose acidic urine eventually burned a whole in the stone wall. When it rained, water would pour down and come out of the hole, and this looked as though the wall was also peeing. (The last part seems like a bit of a stretch to me, but whatever).
Every now and then on special occasions, the water in the fountain is replaced with beer, and people can go get their drink from his "flow". People get really excited about this...
One of the coolest things about Manneken Pis is that he has special costumes made for him that are changed every couple of weeks. His very first costume was made for him in 1698 by the prince of Bavaria: velvet with the royal blue Bavarian print. Since then, he has received an additional 800-some costumes through the years, many of them donated by other countries. You can see 100 of them at a time at the Museum of the City of Brussels at the Grand Place. They are switched out every couple of months. It really is quite fascinating.
This statue is a symbol of Belgium's unique culture and history. It is a statement of rebellion towards the many occupiers of Belgium throughout the years, as in, "You may be here and try to boss us around, but we'll still do wherever we want to." That is another reason why the statue has so much support and has weathered the centuries so well: people believe in his message, as unconventional and ridiculous as it may seem to us non-Belgians.
