Manneken Pis

; ˌmɑnəkə(m) ˈpɪs) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the mid-15th century, it was redesigned by the Brabantine sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619. Its stone niche in rocaille style dates from 1770. Manneken Pis has been repeatedly stolen or damaged throughout its history. Since 1965, a replica has been displayed with the original stored in the Brussels City Museum. It is one of the best-known symbols of Brussels and Belgium, inspiring many imitations and similar statues. The figure is regularly dressed up and its wardrobe consists of around one thousand different costumes. Due to its self-derisive nature, it is also an example of belgitude (French; Belgianness), as well as of folk humour (zwanze) popular in Brussels. Manneken Pis is approximately five minutes' walk from the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), at the junction of the Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat and the pedestrian Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat. This site is served by the premetro (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurs (on lines 3 and 4), as well as the bus stop Grand-Place/Grote Markt (on lines 33, 48 and 95). The original name of the statue was Menneke Pis or Menneke Pist. In fact, in the Brabantian dialect of Brussels (known as Brusselian, and also sometimes referred to as Marols or Marollien), een manneke means a small man, whereas een menneke means a little boy (it is the diminutive of men, meaning boy), though in modern Flemish (the local variant of Dutch), menneke also means a small man (it is synonymous to mannetje). Nowadays, the name Manneken Pis (Dutch, ˌmɑnəkə(m) ˈpɪs; "Little Pissing Man"; also used in English) is official in both French and Dutch. Manneken Pis is sometimes given the nickname of Petit Julien in French or Julianske in Dutch (both meaning "Little Julien"), which in fact refers to a now-disappeared fountain of the "Little Julien" (Juliaenkensborre).