Manneken Pis

Manneken Pis (Brabantian for little man piss), is a Brussels landmark. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin.*

Legend says that in the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held their ground for quite some time. The attackers had thought of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls. A little boy named Juliaanske from Brussels happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city.*

Stone statues of the Manneken Pis were built as early as 1388 . Although stolen many times and replaced over and over again, in 1619 the famous sculptor Jerome Duqesnoy created the current bronze Manneken Pis water feature.  This statue is traditionally dressed in a special costume to celebrate the current season, holiday, or event.  I first saw it during the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.  The ash tray pictured above was given to me by my late sister who purchased it I know not when or where.

The famous statue in Brussels Belgium *