Manneken Pis
This bronze peeing boy statue, only about 55 cm tall, is Brussels' most famous city mascot and owns more than a thousand costumes.
Manneken Pis is a bronze fountain statue created in 1619 by sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy. It stands about 55 cm tall at a street corner roughly 300 m southwest of the Grand-Place. Many legends surround it, the most popular being that the little boy saved the city by urinating on the fuse of an enemy's bomb. The statue has been stolen several times. The one on display today is a 1965 replica, while the original is kept in the King's House museum. Manneken Pis owns over 1,000 costumes donated by countries around the world, including a Chinese Tang suit. He changes outfits more than a hundred times a year. The nearby GardeRobe MannekenPis museum displays part of this collection. Many visitors are surprised by how small he is, and crowds of photographers always gather around him. Nearby are the statues of Jeanneke Pis, a little peeing girl, and a peeing dog. The streets around the statue are full of waffle shops and chocolate stores, where you can taste freshly baked Liège waffles.
Opening hours
Open all day
Nearby sights
- Grand-Place
- Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries
- Sablon & Notre-Dame du Sablon
- Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium & Mont des Arts
- Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
- Belgian Comic Strip Center
- Royal Palace of Brussels
- Horta Museum