Manneken Pis dressed in new costume to celebrate Schaerbeek

Manneken Pis dressed in new costume to celebrate Schaerbeek
The Brussels icon, Manneken Pis is customarily dressed up in different costumes to celebrate different aspects of life and culture in Brussels. Credit: Jose Antonio Navas/ Flickr.

Brussels icon Manneken Pis was dressed in a new costume dedicated to the municipality of Schaerbeek on Tuesday afternoon.

The icon's costume includes a tee-shirt with the name of the municipality and Schaerbeek's post-code, 1030, written on its front, as well as a basket of cherries.

In the 12th century, the city of Brussels allowed Schaerbeek's cherry growers to carry the cherries on donkeys to the Brussels market, where the fruits were sold to brewers to make Kriek, a specific type of Belgian beer, reports BX1. The cherry basket is a reference to the shared history between Schaerbeek and Brussels.

The outfit was designed by Alexandra de Wilde, a costume designer from Helmet in Schaerbeek.

This is the second occasion that Schaerbeek has offered Manneken Pis a costume. In October 2013, the municipality dressed the iconic statue in a coat belonging to Pogge, a traditional Schaerbeekois folk character.

It is common for the Brussels icon to be dressed in costumes to celebrate different aspects of life and culture in the Belgian capital.

Evie McCullough

The Brussels Times 


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