0-euro notes : 1 e. Belgium : Brussels Market Square

When visiting Belgium, Brussels is surely on the list of places to be.
Although it was called a 'sh*t h*le' by some people, Brussels yearly attracts millions of tourists.
Highlight of the city for sure, is the Market Square or 'Grand Place/Grote Markt'.
At walking distance from the Grand Place, in a narrow street called 'Stoofstraat', a small corner is probably the most photographed spot in the city.
'Oh but he's so small... ' is often heard among the tourists, but hey, what can you expect from a peeing toddler?

Brussels' Market Square (city hall) and Manneke Pis

But did you also know that there is more than one 'manneke pis' in Belgium?
South West of Brussels, in the city of Geraardsbergen, there is also a 'manneke pis'
Looks like there is something 'smelly' going on...

Manneke Pis, left in Brussels, right in Geraardsbergen

Both cities claim to have the oldest, original, 'real' manneke pis
The answer however is not that simple. The shown statues in both cities are in fact not that old, since both are replicas.  The one in Brussels dates from 1965 and the one in Geraardsbergen from 1985.
The original one of Brussels, is stored in the 'Bread House' at the Brussels' Grand Place. This design dates from 1619 and was made by Jerôme Duquesnoy the Elder.
Now, the original one of Geraardsbergen dates from 1459, but got stolen and was replaced by a copy in the 18th century.
So, if the original would still have been there, Geraardsbergen has the oldest design.
Now comes the tricky part, as already in 1452... the name of 'manneke pis' appears in some Brussels' documents. Although the name of the fountain was 'Juliaensken Borre' (fountain of young Julian), it was called 'manneke pis' by the people of Brussels. This fountain existed since 1388 ! but the design is not documented.

Maximilian II Emmanuel of Bavaria

In 1698 Manneke Pis got his first suit from Maximilan II Emmanuel of Bavaria
Maximilian II Emmanuel was the last governor of the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium and the Netherlands under Spanish influence). Now, Manneke Piss has over 600 different costumes.

Manneke Pis costumes

Some trivia :
* donating a suit to Manneke Pis, is rewarded with a barrel of beer (from 'draught').
* Manneke Piss was stolen 3 times, one by a British soldier, twice by French soldiers
* because of the theft by French soldiers, and in order to avoid rebellion against the French king, King Louis XV donated a golden woven suit, a hat with feathers and a sword, in 1747.
* Manneke Piss is actually a knight in the order of Saint Louis (since 1747)
* in 1817 it was stolen again, and broken. With the original pieces, a new statue was molded in 1818.

Manneke Pis in Corona-pandemic