Manneken Pis to get own museum

Brussels Minister of Culture Karine Lalieux on Saturday announced plans to open a new museum for the famous statue Manneken Pis. The City of Brussels came to an agreement on the initiative with the 27th Chapter of the Order of the Friends of Manneken Pis, writes La Dernière Heure.

The museum is expected to open in 2016 in Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat, which is now the House of Tradition and Folklore. The building belongs to the City of Brussels and is currently used for temporary exhibitions.

Few details have been released so far about the new museum, how much the project will cost or whether the City of Brussels will recruit staff. In waiting for an official communication on the project, a spokeswoman for the minister told brusselnieuws.be that “the opening of the Manneken Pis museum fits into an overall plan for the rejuvenation of the Brussels museum landscape."

The Order of the Friends of Manneken Pis is pleased with the new plans. "We've been asking for a long time for a place to house the Manneken Pis collection," said Marc Guebel of the Order to brusselnieuws.be. "Most of the memorabilia is currently kept in the private residences of our board members,” said Guebel. “It’s high time that we find an exhibition space for the Manneken Pis wardrobe, some 923 costumes."