44 rue de l'étuve
Bruxelles
Belgium
meaning "the little man who pees" in Brussels dialect, is a fountain in the form of a 55.5-centimeter bronze statue (61 cm with pedestal) that depicts a naked little boy urinating. It is located in the heart of Brussels, just a stone's throw from the Grand-Place, at the intersection of Rue de l'Étuve and Rue du Chêne. Since 1965, the statue on site has been an exact copy of the one designed in 1619-1620, which is carefully preserved in the Brussels City Museum located in the Maison du Roi. Manneken-Pis is the best-known symbol of the people of Brussels, embodying their sense of humor (the "zwanze" in Brussels dialect) and their independent spirit.
King of France Louis XV offered in 1747 a costume to Manneken-Pis, the emblematic statuette of Brussels?
In 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, Louis XV entered Brussels. The French then stole the Manneken-Pis. But finding it quickly embarrassing, they left the emblematic bronze statue of the little boy peeing at the door of a tavern, as recounted in the 19th century by Jacques Collin de Plancy in "Chronicles of the streets of Brussels". This angered the Brussels inhabitants, who were very attached to their unusual and historic fountain. Once the little bronze man was back in place, he was insulted by French grenadiers. To calm things down, the King of France took matters into his own hands. "Louis XV, to court us, gave Manneken-Pis a knight's costume, with the right to carry a sword; he conferred personal nobility on him and decorated him with the cross of Saint Louis, which imposed on the troops not only the need to respect him, but also to render him the military salute", continued the author.
Brussels still keeps this costume. It is in the collections of the Maison du Roi (the Brussels City Museum). This costume is precious not only because of its link to Belgian history and the French sovereign, but also because it is the oldest of the nearly 1,000 outfits that make up Manneken-Pis's wardrobe today. While the statue, made in 1619-1620 by the sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy, had possessed other clothing before Louis XV's gift, the tradition of dressing the statue dates back to the seventeenth century. However, these earlier costumes have disappeared over time.