The Kid’s A Pisser

As example of “zwanze” or bratty Belgian humor there’s Mannikin Pis, the little boy fountain that is located in the heart of Mont des Arts. It was easy to come across; we just funneled  down one of the narrow cobbled streets towards the crowd of tourists clogging the corner where the jokey statue is arcing his stream of water.

Originally installed in the early 17th century, legend has it that the brazen lad was meant to commemorate a youngster that saved the city when he extinguished the lit fuse to a bomb aimed at destroying the city gates. Louis XV apparently gave the urchin a gold-embroidered gown as an apology after French troops damaged it. Since then there’s been a tradition of costuming the lad who models outfits donated by countries around the world (samurai, traditional Flemish, etc.) two-to-three times a week.