Accident cross

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Accident Cross from 1862 in Dillingen

An accident cross ( road cross ) is a cross erected on the roadside to commemorate a sudden death caused by violence. As a rule, the accident cross is erected and cared for by relatives or friends of the deceased, and decorated with flowers, wreaths and personal mementos.

Accident crosses are common all over the western world. In addition to the European region, such memorials can be found in the USA, Australia, Japan and Latin America under names such as roadside memorials, roadside shrine, altarini, descansos or animitas . Sometimes one speaks of a special form of mourning culture .

The tradition of the accident crosses goes back to older memorial crosses and has its roots in memorial crosses such as the atonement cross .

Germany

Cross for the victims of a plane crash near Frankfurt / M.

In Germany, the construction of accident crosses is not approved, but is largely tolerated by the authorities, provided that the cross (e.g. at the roadside) does not pose a risk to other road users. How long the cross remains in place depends mostly on how long it is cared for by relatives or friends of the injured person - since most of today's accident crosses are made of wood, they usually need to be replaced after a few years.

Already in the past it was customary to erect a cross at the scene of an accident, often labeled with the request to pray for the soul of the injured person. Such historical accident crosses made of stone can still be found in greater numbers in the Eifel , where the typical basalt crosses have been preserved better than wooden crosses in other regions due to their material.

Great Britain

In some regions of the UK , accident tags are only allowed if they are considered safe and removed after three months.

Iceland

Memorial crosses at Suðurlandsvegur, Iceland

In 2006, a memorial with 52 crosses was inaugurated on Suðurlandsvegur near Kögunarhól to commemorate road users killed between Reykjavík and Selfoss .

United States

In the United States , California pays a fee of $ 1,000 to build it. They are banned in Colorado , Massachusetts, or Wisconsin . Other states have special requirements.

Latin America

In various South American countries, especially in Chile and Argentina , the (Catholic) custom of the wayside cross has mixed with old ethnic ideas of the indigenous population. Most accident crosses fall into oblivion over time, but popular belief now and then declares one to be miraculous. In this case one believes to have found a kind of messenger in the soul (Spanish: ánima ) of the deceased, who can forward one's wishes and prayers to the divine plane, similar to the intercession of a saint. The Catholic Church rejects these ideas, but tolerates the practice. So the simple cross at the site of a fatal accident can sometimes be expanded into a veritable shrine, and even develop into a supraregional pilgrimage site. The best known example of this is the shrine of the Difunta Correa in Argentina.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Ronald Uden: What to do with the dead? 2006
  2. ↑ a b “Dangerous” road tributes concern. BBC NEWS, Wales, 15th March 2006
  3. ↑ Krossar travels við Kögunarhól. Morgunblaðið , November 9, 2006 (Icelandic)
  4. ↑ United States Programs (Applications & Guidelines): “Memorial Signs” programs for different states & counties in the United States . Descansos.org ( Memento of November 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Oreste Plath: L'Animita. Hagiografía Folclórica . Editorial Nascimento, 1993 and Editorial Grijalbo, 2000 ( full text )

literature

Web links

Commons : Accident Cross  - collection of images, videos and audio files