The world-famous boy, half a meter tall, has more than 1,000 sets of clothes, but his sister doesn’t have any.

When I was very young, I heard about a manneken-pee boy named Julien in Brussels, Belgium. He used his own urine to extinguish the fuse of the enemy's explosive pack and became a national hero. There were statues of him in the streets, but at that time I didn’t even know where Belgium was.

But since he is a world-famous hero, I think his statue is at least tall and conspicuous. However, when I stood in front of him one day, I discovered that the statue was only 55 centimeters high. It's very inconspicuous. If it weren't for the crowds of people holding cameras and mobile phones in front of him, I might have ignored him.

There are actually many legends about Manneken Pis, but no matter which one they are, they are all related to wit and bravery, so this child has become the spokesperson of Brussels and the spiritual embodiment of Brussels people . In the mid-15th century, the first statue of the Manneken Pis was erected in a municipal water fountain at the corner of Oak Street and Constant Street. In 1619, when the City Hall was preparing to renovate the fountain, it specially invited the famous Belgian sculptor Jerome Sr. Duquesnoir, recast the bronze Manneken Pis that everyone sees today. It is said that at certain special celebrations, the Mannequin Pit will "pee" out beer or wine.

It is common to dress religious statues, but dressing a non-religious statue and constantly changing the clothes may only be enjoyed by this child. The pee-pee boy may be the best person in the world. The only statue to truly have his own private wardrobe, and the number of clothes keeps growing, exceeding 1,000 sets so far.

In addition, he also has a dedicated dressing officer, and he has had it since 1756. To this day, there is still a staff member in the city hall who is responsible for dressing him according to the schedule. He gets up early and stays on the ladder every day, rain or shine, to dress and undress him, even on weekends. When it rains, he has to be taken off in time. As for clothes, it was raining lightly when we came today, so he was naked, but when the weather cleared the next day and we saw him again, he put on clothes.

Many of the Manneken Pis wardrobes are placed in two museums. One is in the museum diagonally opposite the fountain statue (pictured above). The cartoon painted on the side wall is really big. The other one is in the city museum on the main square, which is the "King's House" we mentioned in the previous article. In particular, the clothes presented by early European monarchs are there. The tickets for these two museums are passes. Just when we were about to leave, the rain suddenly started to fall heavily. Since God wants to keep us, let's go into this museum and have a look.

This museum is not particularly big, but several glass cases are filled with little urinals wearing various clothes. Most of these clothes have obvious characteristics of various countries or ethnic groups or are their traditional costumes. , because most of the clothes are officially given away. The first documented gift of clothes to a urinal was Maximilian II, Elector of Bavaria and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands in 1698, but the earliest clothes extant in the city museum were given by Louis XV in 1747.

In 1695, Louis XIV bombarded Brussels during the Anti-French Alliance War. The citizens used urinals to mock the French King and cursed him with bad luck. In 1747, several French soldiers took away the sculpture. The people of Brussels were very angry. In order to avoid conflict, Louis XV ordered the soldiers to return the Manneken Pit and awarded him a Cross of St. Louis and a gorgeous dress.

From then on, any monarch or noble who visited Brussels would give the Manneken Pis clothes. In the 18th century, the Manneken Pis had to dress up at least 4 times a year on important festivals. As more and more people gave him clothes, More and more, from ambassadors of various countries to various associations, organizations, and even individuals, they hope to express their love for this little guy by giving away clothing and use it to convey their respect for the city of Brussels, so now the little peeing boy in the fountain outside is seen almost every day They are all changing into new clothes.

However, if you want to send clothes to the Manneken Pis, it is not a simple and casual thing. You must first submit a written application to the Mayor of Brussels and the Council of Aldermen, and the members of the "Friends of the Manneken Pis" association and the City Hall A committee representing the same organization reviews applications and only gifts that meet specific requirements will be accepted. Clothing must be made of high-quality fabrics for long-term preservation and must not contain any advertising, commercial, political or religious overtones.

After passing the review, the giver will receive size specifications and cutting instructions. After the clothes are ready, the city of Brussels will hold a formal gift ceremony. Relevant personnel from the city hall will receive the clothes, the parade will arrive at the fountain, and the work The staff dressed up the Manneken Pis, and members of the "Friends of the Manneken Pis" association also sang "The Song of the Manneken Pis" composed by French singer Maurice Sivalle.

After the ceremony is completed, the Manneken Pis wears his new clothes throughout the day, after which they are stored in his large wardrobe. The giver can apply for the Manneken Pis to wear this suit again on certain specific days, such as National Day, association member gatherings, or certain sports events, cultural activities, charity activities, etc.

The Mannequin Pis was stolen in 1817. Although the thief was severely punished after being caught, being branded with iron pliers and paraded through the streets, until the 20th century, the Mannequin Pis was still used by many people. It was stolen once, so in 1965 the Brussels City Hall made a replica of the Manneken Pis and placed it in the place of the original for everyone to visit, and the original Manneken Pis was collected in the city museum.

This outfit is obviously our panda.

It is said that there are two sets of clothes sent by our country’s official and non-governmental organizations, a set of Chinese double-breasted trousers and a set of People’s Liberation Army military uniforms. On special anniversaries in our country, the urinal will wear appropriate clothes. In celebration, both outfits are in the city museum.

In addition to the national costumes of various countries, there are also many with professional characteristics, such as the uniforms of a certain team, police uniforms, firefighter uniforms, and even character costumes in games.

There are also some celebrities who give pee-pee clothes as gifts. Guess who gave this one below?

It is not an easy task to make and wear clothes for the little Mannequin Boy. Because of his specific posture, his hands and body are close to each other, so he cannot wear them with normal tailoring. His clothes are of a very special tailoring style.

There is also a suit of clothes and a statue in the museum for visitors to try to put on, but I couldn't put it on even after trying for a long time.

Almost everyone knows about Julien the Pee-peeing Boy, but very few people know about Jeanneke Pis. Our next stop is to visit the Jeanneke Pis on the other side of the main square. The forgotten little sister. Looking at the spire of the city hall from the narrow alley, it is still impeccable.

The Pee-peeing Girl was born in 1987 and is more than 300 years younger than Julien. However, she is not an official product. It is said that she was made by a restaurant owner to attract customers. Later, the restaurant closed down and the sister was locked up. In the iron fence. Not many people came to see her, but some came one after another. Some people even threw coins in the water in front of her. It was said that they could get loyal love. I don’t know why it rained quite a bit when I saw these two urinals. It seemed that God cooperated with them and gave them a fountain.

Tips:

1. The Manneken Pis Museum is open from Tuesday to Friday 10:00-17:00, Monday and January 1 and January 5 , closed on January 11, November 11, and December 25

2. Tickets for the Manneken Pis Museum: 4 euros/adult. You can also visit the city museum at the same time. Under 18 years old are free