Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is the home of numerous historic buildings and monuments that date back several centuries. One of this city's most famous historic statues is the Manneken Pis. It depicts a boy — standing atop an ornate fountain — who creates the flow of water into the fountain when he urinates. Jeanneke Pis is a modern statue of a urinating girl — a female counterpoint to the Manneken Pis.
Brussels' Grand Place is a large square that dominates the center of the city. Within the square, visitors find 17th century buildings and monuments. Manneken Pis was erected here during the 15th century. He stands on a street between the Brussels Town Hall and the entrance to the Grand Place.
The more modern statue, Jeanneke Pis, was erected in Brussels in 1987. It is on a little traveled street, Impasse de la Fidelitie, nearly opposite the statue of Manneken Pis. While Manneken Pis was originally a functional part of Brussels' water delivery system, Jeanneke Pis is purely a work of art.
She stands at the end of the Rue des Bouchers. This street is a major location for Brussels restaurants that cater to locals and tourists. Depending on one's choice of restaurants and tables, one can enjoy the statue and a meal at the same time.
The small statue depicts a female child with pigtails. She is squatting in a position that suggests she is relieving herself. Like Manneken Pis, she wears no garments. The legend that has grown up around her suggests that anyone who puts coins in her fountain will have a wish granted.
Artist Denis Adrien Debouvrie created Jeanneke Pis. He received a commission to construct the statue to pay homage to loyalty. The statue that he started work on in 1985 has a fountain with water that flows into it from the little girl's symbolic flow of urine. The limestone that he used has a bluish-gray tint. Manneken Pis, by contrast, was cast in bronze.
The statue is in a public location, so visitors do not pay fees to see it. The park housing Jeanneke Pis has a heavy wrought iron fence that obscures viewing should one arrive after the park closes. One can use Brussels' public transportation to reach the statue. The closest train station is De Brouckere. From there one can take one of the five Brussels trams that deposit visitors close enough to walk to the statue.
