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Brussels is known as the capital of Europe since that is where the European Parliament is headquartered. On my trip to Brussels, I got to learn a lot more about the E.U., but also about the history of Belgium. One of the historic monuments I was fortunate enough to see was called "Manneken Pis".
Manneken Pis is literally a small bronze sculpture of a small boy urinating into a fountain. It's origins date back to 1619, but the current statue was recreated in 1965. It is one of the best-known symbols of the people of Brussels.
Since the 1600's, the statue survived many tramatic events in Belgium. It survived undamaged the bombardment of Brussels of 1695 by the French Army. A pamphlet published in 1695 said the Manneken Pis had become "an object of glory appreiated by all and renowned through the world".
This statue which is not large at all has developed so many legends and stories of history behind it. This statue is even heavily replicated around the world with official copies presented by the City of Brussels to France, Japan, Monaco, the U.K., and Spain.
The statue is known as embodying the sense of humor of Brussels because of their storied history.
Going to this monument to the people of Brussels was a fasinating experience that really made me reflect. When I heard that the statue of a little boy urinating was considered the best-known symbol of the people of Brussels, I was very suprised and thought it was weird. After learning about the history of the staute, I really understood that I was reading about a different culture and different cultures have different symbols. It was not good to judge things based on my culture, rather to learn about new cultures and new symbols. This really helped me with the rest of my travels through Europe as I really was able to see different monuments in a much different and more appreciative light.