Original and copy: the Manneken Pis (Brussels, Belgium)

dressed maneken piss

There is the one really off the beaten path, in the Sonneggstrasse, and there is this one in the centre of Brussels, better known as the Manneken Pis [little man peeing]. Actually, there are a few of them laying around: the figure was repeatedly stollen and versioned for other cities. The original work, made by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder circa 1618 is kept in then nearby Maison du Roi/Broodhuis [King’s Household]. The one in public display was made in 1965.

The statue is dressed in costume several times each week, according to a schedule posted on the railings around the fountain by The Friends of Manneken-Pis. http://www.manneken-pis.be Many of these  customs are in n a permanent exhibition inside the City Museum. I was lucky enough see it fully dressed with the uniform of the French Foreign Legion on the occasion of their birthday.

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