Brussels Otherwise: The Capital in 5 Legends

The Folk History of Brussels

Urban Legends: Folklore and Rumors

Brussels in 5 Legends

• The Manneken Pis: when legends intertwine Though it may be tiny... there are no less than 8 (famous) legends about the Manneken Pis! Here are two of the most widespread. 1. First Manneken Pis: Godefroy of Brabant While the locals are in open conflict with the people of Mechelen, Godefroy of Brabant, a 2-year-old boy accompanying his father, needs to pee. In this embarrassing situation, the little kid decides to leave the military camp alone... to urinate in front of the enemy camp. This bold act by the child boosted the morale of the Brussels troops. To immortalize this heroic act, the statue of the Manneken Pis was erected. 2. Second Manneken Pis: long live the gueuze! Before alcohol was banned for minors, the Brussels tradition was that for each glass of gueuze (local beer) served, a small glass (a >) would be offered to the child accompanying his father to the pub (a healthy pastime!). This second legend about the Manneken Pis thus concerns a little boy who accompanied his father to a tavern. The father drank beer after beer, and the child drank as well... to his heart's content! But beer, as everyone knows, makes you need to urinate! So the little boy left the bar and ventured out alone into the street, in the dead of night, determined to relieve himself from the top of the city walls. It was then that he spotted, down below, the Spaniards, who had come to conquer the city, setting fire to a fuse connected to kegs of gunpowder. To save the city walls, our brave little boy extinguished the fuse by urinating on it. To immortalize the heroic rescue of our capital, the statue of the Manneken Pis was erected.

• The false story of the Town Hall of Brussels It is said in our beautiful capital that the Town Hall is marked by the tragic fate of its architect. Distracted, he allegedly miscalculated the construction of the imposing building. The result: the tower is not centered, as one side of the building is longer than the other. Faced with this disaster and shame, the architect chose to end his life by jumping from the top of the Town Hall tower. If you look more closely at the building, it is evident that it was not built in one go, but in several phases. The > is therefore not attributable to the poor architect!
• The shoes on the power lines You've surely seen shoes hanging from power lines... This strange phenomenon, reminiscent of the lost village of Spectre in the movie Big Fish, can be observed in certain places in the city, like the Halles Saint Géry district. There are 5 interpretations to explain these abandoned shoes. 1. The army, it kicks! This tradition is said to have originated with the American army in the 80s. To mark the end of their military service and return to civilian life, soldiers would throw their combat boots into the air to suspend them from electric cables. Thus arose the custom of tossing shoes to signify a transition to a new phase of life: a sort of rite of passage.
• Illegal herbalist shop Other legends say that these hanging shoes mark the location of a drug dealer. A code known by all enthusiasts of illegal herbs around the world!
• Shoe wars and urban gangs According to this third theory, the shoes are linked to gangs and street crews. Two interpretations remain possible: 1. The shoes would delineate the territories of different gangs, 2. They would mark the spots where gang members died during confrontations.
• Art for the feet Traditional art has no place on the streets of Brussels! Enter street artists and their movement >: these hanging shoes would be works of art, just like graffiti for the Street Art!
• Science and gravity Our last hypothesis is scientific: these shoes might be the work of researchers studying how to launch shoes perfectly so they can be suspended from a line. This exercise seems quite complicated; let's wish good luck to these modern scientists in their studies to uncover this urban mystery!

• Kidnappings in fitting rooms This story, I heard many times in my childhood: that of young girls being kidnapped in fitting rooms to be sold into sexual slavery. The kidnappers, being inventive, developed an entire network through the fitting rooms of stores. Particularly around the shops on Rue des Fripiers, in the Inno gallery on Rue Neuve, or in the galleries of the Queen, where hidden traps are concealed in the fitting rooms. This legend is very popular, both in the capital and beyond, and is also found in other European countries. Other kidnapping networks are said to exist in the subways, via toilet drain systems... The origin of these sordid stories? A legend about shoe and glove shops. Shoe and glove makers would hide a needle soaked in drugs. The customer, while trying on shoes, would prick themselves, begin to feel unwell, and be taken to the back of the store... never to return. This legend gradually morphed to apply to the lingerie world. Everyone knows this story about spy cameras being installed in fitting rooms to satisfy the voyeuristic instincts of the attendants.
• Legends of universities Saint-Louis, ULB, UCL... Several universities populate Brussels, and each has its share of urban legends, which students seem to be particularly fond of! Among all those our guide shared with us, I particularly enjoyed the one about the ULB students: an urban legend that crosses our borders. These clever students have found a good way to supplement their income: starting a counter for little panties (used, of course), to send them to Japan for the famous automatic vending machines for female undergarments!

Everyone Believes in Urban Legends!

• Purpose of urban legends Urban rumors and legends are found in every country around the world and in all cultures. If this trend is so international, it is for a reason: they offer advice for everyday life. Just like fairy tales, behind each of these urban legends hides a moral lesson or a very practical piece of advice about everyday life: hygiene, nutrition, safety...
• Evolution of urban legends What's fascinating about urban legends is tracing their evolution, both in time and space: urban legends are spread and move around the world! It is thus difficult to know where a legend comes from and what its original form is.
• Dangers of urban legends While we can understand the existence of urban legends, that does not mean we should accept them as absolute truths. These narratives often carry pernicious and dangerous ideas. As we've seen through these few stories, legends evolve with time, eras, ideologies, and mores... sometimes acquiring a sectarian, communal, or racist spirit. Attacking a community (ethnic, political, religious) allows a legend to appear more contemporary and real, more grounded. This ultimately facilitates identification and amplifies the emotions conveyed, thus increasing its impact on people. Identifying a group (religious, ethnic...) as dangerous enables the community sharing this story to bolster their sense of belonging through opposition and stimulate feelings of solidarity towards their community and rejection towards others. This kind of thinking thus encourages the proliferation of stereotypes and prejudices against a community perceived as rival. These notions, even today, are very relevant. With a bit of perspective, one can see how the news, conveyed by the media and echoed by friends and colleagues at the coffee machine, is tinged with subjective representations... and with urban legends.

Discover Brussels Differently

• > : the reciprocal influence of urban legends on literature
• But also two tours >: 1. special >: the moral of this thematic tour: love is a dangerous sport! 2. a special Halloween tour: a tour around Brussels and the scariest urban legends... Have ghosts, witches, and other devils really left the streets of our capital? Sensitive souls beware!