- Address: 1000 Brussels, Belgium
- Height: 61 centimeters
- Materials: Bronze
- Created by: 1618
- Author: Jerome Dykesnais
The "Manneken Pis" is a symbol of Brussels and, perhaps, the most famous sight not only of the Belgian capital, but of the entire state.
More about the fountain
Figures of the "pissing boy" in the city can be seen without exaggeration everywhere: on postcards and advertising booklets, in shop windows and cafes. He is a participant of almost all the festive events of the city. Often during the celebrations, the boy "pisses" not with water, but with wine or beer. He also participates in political actions: for example, at the initiative of the organization "Médecins Sans Frontières", who wanted to draw attention to the problems of milk shortages in African countries (namely milk is the staple food), the boy, dressed in the costume of an African farmer, "urinated "Not by water, but by milk.
Fountain "Manneken Pis" was installed in 1619, replacing another figure - a stone, which is believed to exist in the XV century. The "growth" of Julien (as the Belgians call the boy) is only 61 cm, and the weight is 17 kg. The author is the sculptor Jerome Duchenois. The original "Manneken Pis" adorned Brussels from 1619 to 1745; in 1745, during the war for the Austrian inheritance, he was taken away by the British soldiers, then returned to his place, in 1817 - stolen by the Frenchman and again returned. After that, the statue was repeatedly lost and was, the last time it was stolen already in the last century, in 1965, and found in the city channel sawn in two. In 2015, a group of scientists from the Free University of Brussels conducted a verification of the authenticity of the monument to the pissing boy. The results of the verification are not yet known to the public. Copies of the sculpture "Manneken Pis" are in France, in Spain, in Japan and even in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Clothes for the pissing boy
In 1698, the Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian Emmanuel II, made a present to the Man of Pisces: he presented a uniform. Since then, a tradition has arisen to put on the statue a variety of outfits: national clothes of different peoples, costumes of real historical figures and even carnival costumes. The boy had a chance to visit a Mexican and a Ukrainian, a Japanese and a Georgian, a diver and a cook, a football player, Count Dracula and Obelix and many others. Sometimes the "Manneken Pis" depicts real historical personalities - for example, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Nelson Mandela, Christopher Columbus.
In total, there are about a thousand of Written Man's clothes, and some of them can be seen in the Museum of the City of Brussels. "He changes clothes" 36 times a year, and all the outfits are picked up and made by the official "personal dresser." The "timetable", according to which the boy is changed by outfits, can be seen on the plate next to the fountain. "Dressing Ceremony" is held very solemnly, often in the presence of officials and accompanied by an orchestra.
| | |
| | |
"Girlfriend" and "mongrel"
In addition to the Manneken Pis, there is also a fountain in Brussels depicting a pissing girl - Jeanneke Pis. It has not yet become a "business card" of the capital, and it is understandable: the "girlfriend" of the Manneken Pis is still very young, the fountain of the sculptor Denis-Adrien Deburbi was installed only in 1987. Located Jeanneke Pis to the northeast of the Grand Place , about three hundred meters, in the Impasse de la Fidelité - the Dead End of Fidelity. A little more than half a kilometer is worth another "pissing" statue - a statue of the dog Zinneke Pis, only she pisses "for fun": in this case it's just a statue, not a fountain. The author of this work, located at the corner of Rue du Vieux Marché aux grains and Rue des Chartreux, is the Flemish sculptor Tom Franzen.
| | |
How to get to the fountain?
The Manneken Pis is located in the very center of Brussels, at the corner of Rue de l'Étuve (Stoofstraat, Bannaya) and Rue du Chêne (Eikstraat, translated as Oak). From the famous Grand Place you need to go to the left, and after passing 300 meters, you will see a fountain.
| | |
