Manneken Pis of Geraardsbergen

The very diverse and sometimes surprising costumes of this Manneken Pis can be admired in the tourist office a little further on. Highly recommended!

Manneken-Pis of Geraardsbergen is a well-known 15th-century statue in Geraardsbergen. It is part of a fountain on the Market Square near Geraardsbergen Town Hall. The residents of Geraardsbergen placed the statue of a urinating boy on a fountain in 1459, replacing a statue of a lion stolen by the people of Ghent.The town was destroyed in 1452. To restore its water system, Geraardsbergen called on the Brussels fountain master Jan van den Schelden, who was commissioned in 1455 to create a lattice mannequin. It was completed in May 1459 by the Brussels brass founder Reinier I of Tienen.The current statue on the steps of the town hall is a copy of the original statue from 1459, which can be admired in De Permanensje, which also houses the tourist information office. The copy dates from 1985.

Every day, a hundred tourists come to Brussels to see and photograph the famous Manneken Pis. Yet they are in the wrong place, since the Manneken Pis of Geraardsbergen is the oldest!
Oldest Manneken Brussels and Geraardsbergen both have a Manneken Pis, but the one in Geraardsbergen is the oldest. By far: it is 160 years different to the one in Brussels. In other words, when the Manneken of Brussels hesitantly started to pee, ours had already filled an entire Dender. Fabrications? No, the truth. Historically proven by city accounts. History The story of Manneken Pis begins in 1452. Incidentally, not such a nice beginning for Geraardsbergen, because that year hordes of wild Ghent residents flattened the city. The fountains on the Market Square were also destroyed. The Ghent barbarians even stole an elegantly sculpted lion's head, which served as a fountain spout. The people of Geraardsbergen were offended and furious. Yet they remained civilized: they immediately sent Hendrik Joos to Ghent, who politely asked for their lion's head back. Hendrik was unsuccessful. Three years later, in 1455, the city magistrate of Geraardsbergen had the brilliant idea to order a "lattoenen mannekin", or a little man in yellow copper, from the Brussels fountain master Jan Van Der Schelden. The people of Geraardsbergen had a will to live again and wanted to renew their city after the devastation of 1452. The first Manneken Pis that was delivered turned out to be a few sizes too big for the pedestal. No worries: a smaller one was ordered. After a pregnancy full of obstacles, that statue finally saw the light of day in the spring of 1459: Manneken Pis of Geraardsbergen is born! Weight? 45.5 pounds. Manneken Pis Museum As of 2017, the Geraardsbergs Manneken Pis has collected a total of 307 costumes. Since 2016, the costumes can be admired in the Manneken Pis Museum (Infokantoor Visit Geraardsbergen, Markt z/n). Brotherhood A brotherhood was founded around the Geraardsbergs Manneken Pis. The chapter day of the Brotherhood of Manneken Pis takes place annually on the 1st Sunday of June, followed by the golden Manneken-Pis throw. Source: visitgeraardsbergen.be/manneken-pis