The city of Brussels takes pride in its figure of Manneken Pis, which happens to be a tiny figure of a peeing boy which is located at the junction of Rue de l’Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat. To find it, one takes the left lane next to the Brussels Town Hall from the famous Grand Place and walks a few hundred metres to arrive at the spot. The statue will be on the left corner.
The statue has always been an object of controversy in the history of Brussels. Since the time when the original version of the statue, cast in bronze by Jerome Duquesnoy, was installed on the site in 1619, it has faced a lot of attacks and yet it manages to stand there. On one occasion, the figure was shattered to pieces. The remains were used to create the mold from which the contemporary version of the statue was cast.
Apart from threats from vandals, it has also managed to stay one piece even during war times. During times of war, it was always disassembled and hidden to avoid destruction in bomb raids. Once, this statue was stolen by residents of the Flemish town, Geraardsbergen, who claimed that their own statue of the peeing boy is the oldest in Belgium.
The statue is dressed in costume several times each week and its wardrobe consists of more than 600 costumes which are kept at a permanent exhibition inside the City Museum, located in the Grand Place, immediately opposite the Town Hall. The collection also includes folklore costumes and a collection of special outfits, such as the complete Elvis Presley or Mickey Mouse costumes. The costumes are managed by the non-profit association The Friends of Manneken-Pis, who review hundreds of designs submitted each year, and select a small number to be produced and used. Many costumes represent the national dress of nations whose citizens come to Brussels as tourists; others are the uniforms of assorted trades, professions, associations, and branches of the civil and military services.
On occasion, the statue is hooked up to a keg of beer. Cups will be filled up with the beer flowing from the statue and given out to people passing by.
The visit to Brussels is incomplete without a look at this marvel. There are many hotels near Manneken-Pis some of which are Hotel Amigo, Bedford Hotel and Congress Centre, Eurostars Grand Place Hotel, Hotel Mozart, and many others.