Jeanneken Pis, Brussels

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Jeanneke Pis is a modern fountain and statue in Brussels, which forms a counterpoint in gender terms to the city's trademark Manneken Pis, as it does aurally and geographically, being about the same distance away on the other side of the Grand Place / Grote Markt.

It was made by Denis-Adrien Debouvrie in 1985 and erected in 1987 and endowed with its own instant legend, the better to amuse strollers. This half-metre-high statue of blue-grey limestone depicts a little girl with her hair in bunches, squatting and urinating, apparently very contentedly. It is located on the east side of the Impasse de la Fidélité / Getrouwheidsgang (Faith Alley), a narrow dead-end street some 100 metres long leading northwards off the restaurant-packed Rue des Bouchers / Beenhouwersstraat (Butchers' Street). It is less well known than its male counterpart, perhaps because of its relative modernity or because of its location near the closed end of the street.

I'm not really sure why the city of Brussels has such a fascination with the most ordinary of bodily functions but in addition to the diminutive Manneken Pis you can also visit Jeanneke Pis, a statue of a little girl relieving herself and from what I read there is also a canine counterpart which we didn't come across.

Jeanneke Pis is more modern than the famous Manneken Pis, it was erected in 1987. It's close to the Grote Markt, located on the east side of the Impasse de la Fidélité / Getrouwheidsgang (Faith Alley), a dead end street just off the restaurant packed Rue des Bouchers / Beenhouwersstraat (Butchers' Street).

...but did you know that there is also Jeanneken Pis?

What is it? Jeanneken Pis is a statue similar to Manneken Pis, of a little girl peeing. This can be found on an offstreet (Impasse de la Fidélité) from Rue de Boucher.

Jeanneken Pis was created to show that women DO matter (who ever thought contrary?)!

So, I guess that back in 1987 it was decided that Manneken Pis needed a Female counterpart. And here you have her. I'd never heard about her until I got to Brussels and I guess I can see why she hasn't caught on.

That, plus she's been hidden away in an alley. Such a fate.

Jeanneke Pis, more or less a reaction of feminists? Or an emancipative action? Well, we never know, but in the alleys behind the Grand Place, one can find carefully hidden in a little corner the female variant of the famous Manneke Pis. It's funny and even if you have to really search for her, it's worth the discovery journey through the area that she is "pissing" in.

Almost everybody knows Manneken Pis, but few have seen his little sister. Not long ago, the inhabitants seeing the interest of the tourists towards the boy (and evidently feeling that there should be some form of parity between the sexes:))) ) have decided to place a girl as well. Go to Impasse de la Fidelite to see the statue.

Jeaneke-Pis
Sure, you may have heard about Brussels' statue of the little boy weeing, but did you know he has a sister? She can be found having a squirt alongside Brussels' central restaurant strip, Rue des Bouchers (Butcher's Street).

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This is the female version of Manneken. It was made in 1985 by Denis Adrien Debouverie.

You can see it behind bars in the off the north-western part of Rue des Bouchers.