Road cross

The 'Road Cross' as it stands in Aarle-Rixtel at the corner of Helmondseweg and Bosscheweg is a statue like many in North Brabant. The one in Aarle-Rixtel was placed around 1920. In the first period of the last century about seventy of these crosses were placed throughout Brabant. Stichting Kruis aan den Weg took care of the placement of nearly life-size images of Jesus Christ. The idea behind it was to protect passers-by from physical harm and at the same time to confront people who saw the statue with 'their Saviour'. The initiator of the Kruis aan den Weg foundation was the Helmond wire manufacturer Antonis Wilhelmus van Thiel. His father, Martinus van Thiel was one of the younger brothers of Piet van Thiel, founder of a nail forge and linen weaving company in 1842 in Beek en Donk. Above the statue is the text Inri. These letters form the initials of the Latin inscription on Jesus' cross: Iesus Nazarenus, Rex ludaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). On the pedestal of the statue is the text 'Mensch save thy soul'. In the time that Helmond tried to annex Aarle-Rixtel (instead of merging with Lieshout and Beek en Donk), there was also a sign next to it for a while: 'Mensch red Uw ziel - en Uw dorp'.