Aarle-Rixtel

History

Aarle was first mentioned in 1249 as Arleh, and means "open forest with maple 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. 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. 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 Laarbeek. The spoken language is Peellands (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to Standard Dutch). 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.

Most-observed species

• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,247
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,189
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,604
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,598
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,082
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,299
• Common Chiffchaff

  Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  13,068
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,982

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2021-01-02
  5 km ENE of Eynatten, Belgium
• M 2.9 — 2018-05-25
  1 km S of Reppel, Belgium
• M 2.9 — 2013-01-20
  0 km WNW of Brachterbeek, Netherlands
• M 4.2 — 2011-09-08
  3 km ENE of Heijen, Netherlands
• M 4.1 — 2009-07-24
  2 km NW of Kamp-Lintfort, Germany
• M 3.2 — 2008-12-25
  6 km ESE of Rheinberg, Germany