I believe Croatia's national costume suits Manneken-Pis very well, today he is a little less 'Bruxellois' and a little more Croat, but in any case he is European, said Marc Guebel, deputy chairman of the Friends of Manneken-Pis Committee.
"Today is a great day for Croatia. The central celebration ceremony is in Zagreb and we, the Croatian diplomatic community and Croats in Brussels, are proud of this little celebration in the open, alongside Manneken-Pis in a traditional Croatian costume," said Mario Nobilo, Croatian Ambassador to Belgium.
Manneken-Pis, the symbol of Brussels folklore, is a landmark small bronze sculpture in Belgium's capital, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain's basin. The 61 cm tall bronze statue on the corner of Rue de l'Etuve and Rue des Grands Carmes was made in 1619 by Brussels sculptor Hieronimus Duquesnoy the Elder, father of the more famous François Duquesnoy.
There are several legends behind this statue, but the most famous is the one about Duke Godfrey III of Leuven. In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (now Neder-Over-Heembeek). The troops put the infant lord in a basket and hung the basket in a tree to encourage them. From there, the boy urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle. Another legend states that in the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held its ground for some time, so the attackers conceived of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls.
A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city. There was at the time (middle of the 15th century, perhaps as early as 1388) a similar statue made of stone. The statue was stolen several times.