Aarle-Rixtel is a village in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

municipality of

Laarbeek Laarbeek () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality located in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. It was formed in 1997 from the former municipalities Beek en Donk, Aarle-Rixtel and Lieshout (which included ...

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

. It lies about 4 km north of

Helmond Helmond (; called ''Hèllemond'' in the local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of ...

. Since the municipal reorganization of 1968 the castle Croy is part of Aarle-Rixtel.

History

Aarle was first mentioned in 1249 as Arleh, and means "open forest with

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

trees". Rixtel was first mentioned in 1179 as Ricstelle. The etymology is unknown. The villages developed in the Middle Ages along the Aa River. The two villages merged into a single entity. Aarle used to be a site of pilgrimage, and had a church, guesthouse, monastery and an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

. The Chapel of Our Lady in the Sand is a pilgrimage site which was built around 1500. It was rebuilt in 1597. In 1846, it was converted into town hall, but became a chapel again in 1853. In 1969, it was restored and made symmetrical again. There is a little 16th-century Mary statue inside in the chapel which allegedly has performed miracles. The Our Lady Presentation Church was built between 1844 and 1846 in neoclassic style and is one of the finest examples of a so-called , churches built by the

Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Ministry ...

(Department of Public Works). It was remodelled between 1896 and 1897 by

Joseph Cuypers Josephus Theodorus Joannes Cuypers (10 June 1861, Roermond – 20 January 1949, Meerssen) was a Dutch people, Dutch architect; primarily known for his Catholic churches. Life and work He was born to the architect, Pierre Cuypers, and his wif ...

Croy Castle The Croy Castle is a castle in the Dutch province North Brabant, near the village Aarle-Rixtel which is part of the municipality of Laarbeek. From 1642 until 1968 Croy belonged to the municipality Stiphout (currently part of the municipality of H ...

was built in the 15th century as a summer residence. The gate with the two towers date from 1500 and were restored in 1790. The last residence was Constance van der Bruggen who left the estate to the poor of

Stiphout Stiphout is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Helmond, about 2km west of the centre of that city. The village is mentioned for the first time in 1155 as 'Villa Stilpot', and in 2005 ...

. A retirement home was established in the castle until 1977. In 1988, it became an office building. In 1840, Aarle was home to 701 people and Rixtel was home to 154 people. The former town hall was built in 1855 and consists of three blocks: a school, the town hall and the residence for the school teacher. Until the municipal reorganization of 1997, Aarle-Rixtel was a separate municipality. In 1997, it became part of

. The spoken language is Peellands (an

East Brabantian East Brabantian ( or ) is one of the main divisions of the Brabantian dialect group recognized by the ''Woordenboek van de Brabantse dialecten''. East Brabantian dialects are mainly spoken in the eastern part of the province of North Brabant. Clas ...

dialect, which is very similar to

Standard Dutch Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the nati ...

). Since many decades, the village has been an important location for textile production. Petit & Fritsen was a bell foundry that was located in Aarle-Rixtel until 2014. In that year, the company was acquired by a competitor who became thereby the last remaining Dutch bell foundry.

Gallery

File:Aarle-Rixtel, Klokkengieterij Petit & Fritsen RM46886 foto7 2016-10-16 12.29.jpg, Bell foundry Petit & Fritsen File:Kapel van Onze Lieve Vrouw in 't Zand Aarle-Rixtel Monument 6938.jpg, Chapel of Our Lady in the Sand File:Heemhuis.jpg, House in Aarle-Rixtel File:Laarbeek Cafe Dorpstraat 18 20150404.jpg, Pub in Aarle-Rixel

References

{{RefList Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1997 Former municipalities of North Brabant Populated places in North Brabant Laarbeek