Manneken Pis

There are several legends behind this statue, but the most famous is the one about Duke Godfried II of Brabant. In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (currently Neder-over-Heembeek) . The troops put the little boy in a basket and hung it in a tree, to encourage them. From there, he urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle.

Another legend goes like this: in (when), Brussels was under siege by a foreign power (which?). The city had held their ground for quite some time. The attackers had thought of a plan to place explosive charges (where?). A little boy from Brussels happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city.

There was already a statue made of stone in the middle of the 15th century. In 1619 it was replaced by a bronze statue, created by Jeroom Duquesnoy. The statue was stolen several times.

On special occasions the statue is dressed in a costume. His wardrobe now consists of several hundreds of different costumes.

According to an article posted in the History section of www.manneken-pis.com, the statue once was used to dispense liquor.