This has always been the question that people asked me when we visited Bruxelles. Why does Petit Nicholas piss? What is the story behind this famous miniscule monument? And I never find the right answer for that. So, I’ve decided to do some research of this famous monument of Belgium, which is located at the junction of Rue de l’Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat, near Grand Place Bruxelles, the Manneken Pis.

The funniest story, which I heard from my Germany’s friend Alan, he told me that it was back when Brussels was under siege by foreign power, when Julien happened to spy the plan of the attacker, which is to place explosive charges at the city walls. He decided then to urinate in the burning fuse and thanks to him, the city was safe! This story seems to good to be true apparently. Another similar story was told to me, but it was not on the burning fuse, but instead on a fire which later stops the castle from burning down.

A famous fable in Belgium had another version. A small boy went missing from his mother when shopping in the center of the city. Everyone on the city was looking for the child and when the child was found, he was peeing on the corner of a small street.

Another story, which I found from a Brussels guidebook, is about a wealthy merchant who, during a visit to the city with his family, had his beloved young son go missing. The merchant hastily formed a search party that scoured all corners of the city until the boy was found happily urinating in a small garden. As a sign of gratitude to the locals who helped out during the search, he built the fountain.

And the most famous story is without a doubt about a war troops who put the infant lord in a basket and hung the basket in a tree to encourage them. From there, the boy urinated on the troops of the opposing troop who eventually lost the battle.  With all the legend behind this miniscule monument, no wonder it has been stolen seven times during his long life. A man was even to 20 years in prison when, in 1817, he ripped the statue from its base and fled with it. Funny, after all, it was just a pee-boy for us!

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