Street Art Cities

On lists with the ugliest spots in the city center of Tilburg, the 45 square meter wall of the parking lot on the Spoorlaan kept popping up. Rutger Termohlen and Bjorn Simons have taken care of this prominent place in town. The new painting offers a view of the Moerenburg district and also pays attention to the Tilburg fair. But most of all the artists painted a tribute to Marietje Kessels.

Maria Catharina Wilhelmina (Marietje) Kessels was born on March 2, 1889. She was the third child of Maria Philomena Crijns and Mathieu Kessels, owner of the Royal Dutch Factory of Musical Instruments. On August 22, in the year 1900, Marietje had been on her way to post a letter and after that she was to go to her piano teacher to cancel a lesson. When she did not come home, the family started a search. She had not visited her piano teacher, and when it also appeared that the letter had not arrived at the destination, the police instituted a major investigation. Two days later Marietje's body was found in the vault of the Heilig Hartkerk (Church of the Sacred Heart) of the Noordhoek. The body showed signs of rape.
The murder caused a national commotion. The case was never resolved, and 'Marietje Kessels' has remained a familiar name in Tilburg ever since.