Manneken Pis - details and images
Corner street called Rue de l'Ovens / Stoofstraat the Rue du Chene / Eikstraat, located in the heart of the old one of the strangest sights in Brussels. It is a statue of a naked boy to pee in a fountain, known as the Manneken Pis.
Nobody knows exactly when and why this all too impressive statue became so famous. There are thousands of similar fountains and statues scattered throughout Europe, yet thousands of tourists are rushing to make a picture of it and not others.
Manneken Pis is a small statue with a huge wardrobe. The statue is dressed in little suits several times a year. There are hundreds of different outfits. A foundation called "Friends of Manneken Pis" takes care of the costumes. Foundation receives hundreds of proposals from fans every year, but only a few are also manufactured and used. The dates and times when certain costumes are used are posted on the Internet and then some posters around the fountain.
The legends about him Manneken Pis
There are many legends associated with the Manneken Pis. Some say the statue is inspired by a battle in the 12th century between the forces of Duke Godfrey III of Leuven and the lords of Grimbergen. Godfrey III was only two years when he inherited the dukedom. His army commander put the little lord in a basket and raised on a tree branch to pick up troops. According to legend Godfrey baby peed on the lords of Grimbergen who lost the battle.
Another legend says the statue is another famous son of another war. Sometime during the 14th century, Brussels was under siege. Enemy soldiers tried to blow up the city walls by placing a bomb on them. They were spying on the walls but a boy who, after the soldiers left, he urinated on the wick thus saving the city.
Another legend says that the Manneken Pis is the son of a rich merchant who lost a day through the city. Quickly organized a desperate father searching for the boy's team that has plagued the city and they found the child happy, making someone pee in the garden. His father made a gift statue garden owner.
The symbol of Brussels
The current bronze statue is the work of Jerome Duquesnoy, but there was a similar stone sculpture and much older that date at least since 1388. It was stolen several times and finally was completely lost track.
Manneken Pis has served as a model for hundreds of aftershocks used as garden decorations everywhere, thus the legend of Manneken Pis. Manneken Pis there is another in a nearby town, Geraardsbergen. This whole discussion arose about who owns the oldest statue and sparked much animosity between the two guilds. A study of this dispute cleared the city archives and said that the statue is the oldest Geraardsbergen - appears in the archives because he was ordered to replace the statue of a lion, which had a similar argument has been stolen by the people of Ghent.
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