Manneken Pis

The earliest mention of the existence of Manneken Pis can be found in an administrative text, dating from 1451–1452, about the water lines supplying the fountains of Brussels. From the beginning, the fountain played an essential role in the distribution of drinking water. It stood on a column and poured water into a double rectangular basin of stone. The only representations of this first statue can be found, very schematically, in a painting by Denis Van Alsloot, representing Brussels' Ommegang of 1615 and in a preparatory drawing to this painting.[5]

The first statue was replaced by a new bronze version, commissioned in 1619. This 61-centimetre (24 in) tall bronze statue, on the corner of Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue des Grands Carmes/Lievevrouwbroerstraat, was made by Brussels' sculptor Hieronimus Duquesnoy the Elder (1570–1641), father of Jérôme Duquesnoy the Young and the famous François Duquesnoy. It was probably cast and installed in 1620. During this time, the column supporting the statue and the double rectangular basin collecting water were completely remodeled by Daniel Raessens.[5]

Manneken Pis fountain, depicted in an etching by Jacobus Harrewijn (1697)

During its history, the statue faced many hazards. It survived undamaged the bombardment of Brussels of 1695 by the French army, but the pipes having been affected, it could not deliver its water for some time. A pamphlet published the same year recounts this episode. This text is the oldest attesting that Manneken Pis had become "an object of glory appreciated by all and renowned throughout the world". It is also the first time that it served as a symbol for the people of Brussels. It is also traditionally said that after the bombardment, it was triumphantly placed again on its pedestal. On that occasion, the following passage from the Bible was inscribed above its head : In petra exaltavit me, et nunc exaltavi caput meum super inimicos meos ("The Lord placed me on a stone base, and now I raise my head above my enemies"). As shown by an engraving by Jacques Harrewijn, dating from 1697, the fountain was no longer located on the street, but in a recess at the corner of Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat and Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat.[5]

Manneken Pis in its niche, fitted in 1770

In 1770, the column and the double rectangular basin disappeared; the statue was integrated into a new decor, in the form of a stone niche in rockery style, originating from another dismantled fountain of Brussels. The water simply flowed through a grating in the ground, which was replaced by a basin in the 19th century. In its new setting, Manneken Pis gives the impression of being smaller than in its original layout.[5]

The whole structure is protected by railings, the last version of which dates from 1851. The latter prevented access to water, relegating the fountain to a decorative and symbolic role.[5] It is also the case, around the same time, of the other fountains in Brussels. This correlates with efforts by the City of Brussels, starting in 1855, to allow for the distribution of drinking water in homes.[8]

The figure has repeatedly been the object of theft or attempted theft. Legend has it that the statue was removed in 1745 and found in the Flemish town of Geraardsbergen (French: Grammont). As a sign of their appreciation, the people of Brussels gave this city a replica of the statue. In reality, the first attempted theft was made in 1747 by a group of French grenadiers stationed in Brussels. The population rebelled against this deed and threatened a bloody revenge. To calm things down, the King of France, Louis XV, offered a gentleman's gown of brocade, embroidered with gold, to Manneken Pis. He also authorised him to carry the sword, and decorated him with the Cross of St. Louis.[5]

The statue was stolen in 1817 by the fugitive Antoine Licas. The perpetrator was heavily punished; he was condemned to forced labour for life, and was first tied for an hour to stocks on the Grand Place. The original statue was broken into 11 pieces during this abduction and was restored by a specialised welder, under the supervision of sculptor Gilles-Lambert Godecharle.[5] The pieces were matched and used to make a mold in which the bronze statue was poured. The statue was then screwed onto a new base marked "1620 - REST 1817".[9]

Manneken Pis experienced similar misadventures in the 20th century. Two attempted thefts occurred in 1955 and 1957. Some accounts say that it has been stolen up to seven times; in January 1963 by students of the Antwerp student association "De Wikings" of the Sint-Ignatius Handelshogeschool (Higher Business Education), now part of the Antwerp University, who "hijacked" the statue for five days before handing it over to the Antwerp authorities. The local and international press covered the story, contributing to the students' collection of funds donated to two orphanages. Things were more serious when it disappeared in 1965; the statue had been broken by the thief and only the feet and ankles remained. In June 1966, the Antwerp magazine De Post received an anonymous phone call, signaling that the body was in the Charleroi Canal. It was found there by divers, sent by the magazine, and was brought back to Brussels on 27 June. Restored once again, the statue was sheltered and the original version is now kept and displayed on the second floor of the Brussels City Museum, at the Maison du Roi/Broodhuis, on the Grand Place.[5][6] The statue now on display on the corner of Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat and Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat is an identical copy.

In late 2018, it was discovered by city technician Régis Callens that the basin of the statue had developed a leak, leading to a reported 1,000-1,500 liters (around 300 gallons) of water being used per day.[10] The leak occurred for an unknown number of years, unnoticed among the several hundred water features in the City of Brussels and was only later discovered with the help of Shayp water monitoring technology.[11] The statue received a temporary fix in March 2019, with a permanent recirculating system set to be installed. The solution was announced during Brussels Water Week where city officials cited the situation as motivation to check for similar problems in other fountains.[12]

Manneken Pis being dressed by the student class Technica of the Erasmus School of Brussels

Manneken Pis is dressed in costumes, several times each week, according to a published schedule, which is posted on the railings around the fountain. Since 1954, 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.[13] His wardrobe consists of around one thousand different costumes, many of which may be viewed in a permanent exhibition inside the City Museum, located on the Grand Place, immediately opposite the Town Hall. In February 2017, a specially designed museum, at 19, rue du Chêne/Eikstraat, called Garderobe MannekenPis, opened its doors.[14][15]

Although the proliferation of costumes is of twentieth-century origin, the occasional use of costumes dates back almost to the date of casting; the oldest costume on display, in the City Museum, being of seventeenth-century origin.[16] In 1756, an inventory indicates that Manneken Pis had five complete costumes. From 1918 to 1940, he was offered some thirty costumes. But it was especially after 1945 that the movement took on an exceptional dimension; he had more than 400 costumes in 1994, more than 750 in 2005, and more than 950 in 2016.[17] The costume change, on the figure, is a colourful ceremony, often accompanied by brass band music. 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 certain occasions (Saint-Verhaegen, Meyboom plantation, for example), the statue is hooked up to a keg of beer. Cups are filled up with the beer flowing from the statue and given out to passers-by.[2][18]

• 
  Manneken Pis dressed as Dracula (15 March 2002)
• 
  Manneken Pis in judo attire (2008)
• 
  Replica of the outfit offered by Maximilien Emanuel of Bavaria in 1697 (2009)
• 
  Manneken Pis in Diablada (Bolivia) (786th costume, 3 March 2007)
• 
  25th anniversary of the Order of the Friends of Manneken-Pis (3 September 2011)
• 
  Manneken Pis dressed as a burgomaster member of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels (902nd costume, 22 June 2013[19]
• 
  A saxophone for Manneken Pis on the 200th birthday of Adolphe Sax (6 November 2014)
• 
  Manneken Pis 1000th costume (13 May 2018)
• 
  Les Compagnons du Beaujolais costume (15 November 2018)

Geraardsbergen's Manneke Pis competes with that of Brussels as the oldest.

Although Brussels' Manneken Pis is the best known, others exist. There is an ongoing dispute over which Manneken Pis is the oldest – the one in Brussels or the one in Geraardsbergen.[20] Similar statues can also be found in the Belgian cities of Koksijde, Hasselt, Ghent, Bruges, in the town of Braine-l'Alleud (where it is called "Il Gamin Quipiche"), and in the French Flemish village of Broxeele, a town with the same etymology as Brussels.

A Japanese variant of Manneken Pis on the station platform in Tokyo

Since the 20th century, numerous copies or imitations of Manneken Pis have been created both in Belgium and abroad. It is necessary to distinguish the official copies offered by the City of Brussels from copies and imitations carried out privately by admirers of the little statue.

Official copies were offered to:

• Colmar, France (1921)
• Osaka, Japan (1928)
• Monaco (1951)
• London, United Kingdom (1959)
• Broxeele, France (1979)
• Benalmadena, Spain (1991)
• Nagoya, Japan (2015)

In many countries, replicas in brass or fiberglass are common swimming or garden-pool decorations. Many copies exist worldwide as garden ornaments. Manneken Pis has also been adapted into such risqué souvenir items as ashtrays and corkscrews.

A copy of the statue stands in the Danish town of Bogense.

In September 2002, a Belgian-born waffle-maker set up a replica in front of his waffle stand in the Orlando Fashion Square mall, in Orlando, Florida. He recalled the legend as "the boy who saved Brussels from fire by extinguishing it with his urine" (confusing the legend with an incident in Gulliver's Travels perhaps). Some shocked shoppers made a formal complaint. Mall officials said that the waffle-shop owner did not follow procedures when he put up the statue and was therefore in violation of his lease.[21]

In contrast, there is a similar statue in Rio de Janeiro, in front of the quarters of Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, a famous Brazilian football club. There, the presence of the statue is taken lightly, and it has even been adopted as a mascot by the club. Fans usually dress it with the club's jersey, after important wins.

A working replica of Manneken Pis stands on the platform of Hamamatsuchō Station in Tokyo, Japan. The statue is a great source of pride for station workers who dress it in various costumes—traditional and otherwise—at different times of year.[22]

• Manneken Pis is granted a humorous tribute in the comic album Asterix in Belgium. For Asterix-related events taking place in Brussels, the sculpture has also been clad in Asterix's trademark garments.[25]
• The Japanese gag manga Teenage Renaissance! David features Manneken Pis as one of its characters.

• The 1968 film The Party, starring Peter Sellers, includes a reproduction of the statue in the house's extended water feature. The statue's peeing can be changed at an extended intercom panel, and Sellers, as Hrundi V. Bakshi, soaks a guest when he hits the wrong button.
• In the 1986 film The Money Pit, the lead character, Walter Fielding, played by Tom Hanks, accidentally falls in a construction area where workers are renovating his home. In a sequence reminiscent of a Rube Goldberg machine, he stumbles through a window, across the roof, down a scaffold, finally into a wheeled bin in which he rolls down a hill and is dumped into a fountain resting directly under a replica of Manneken Pis.
• Manneken Pis is a 1995 Belgian comedy-drama film, directed by Frank Van Passel and written by Christophe Dirickx. It premiered in May 1995 at the Cannes Film Festival. It received the André Cavens Award for Best Film and four awards at the Joseph Plateau Awards. The film was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 68th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

• A promotional expansion for the board game 7 Wonders allows a player to build Manneken Pis as an eighth wonder of the world.[26]
• In 2019, under pressure from owner Hasbro, the Brussels edition of the Monopoly board game censored Manneken Pis with swimming trunks.[27]
• In the board game Bruxelles 1893, published by Z-Man Games, the first player token has a depiction of Manneken Pis on it.