Zinneke Pis, Brussels — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Brussels loves its peeing statues. First came Manneken Pis in 1619, then Jeanneke Pis in 1987, and finally, in 1999, artist Tom Frantzen completed the irreverent trio with Zinneke Pis: a bronze dog relieving himself against a bollard with casual canine dignity. The name tells a story of its own. "Zinneke" means "mutt" or "mixed-breed dog" in the Brusselian dialect, and historically referred to the stray dogs that wandered the streets along the Lesser Senne canal. But the word also traditionally described someone who was not born in Brussels, an outsider. The statue therefore celebrates Brussels as a city of mixed origins, multicultural identity, and cheerful disregard for pretension. This playful spirit has a name in Brussels: "zwanze," the local tradition of folk humor that pokes fun at pomposity and celebrates the everyday. Zinneke Pis is zwanze in bronze form, a monument to the idea that a mutt deserves its own statue just as much as a cherub or a girl. The sculpture stands at the junction of Rue des Chartreux and Rue du Vieux-Marche-aux-Grains, near Halles Saint-Gery in one of the city's trendiest districts. Many visitors hunting for the famous Manneken Pis never discover his canine companion a few streets away. A Questo quest through Brussels connects all three peeing statues into a delightfully absurd treasure hunt that reveals the city's sense of humor at every turn.