The Johann Arens cross is one of the many wayside crosses that can be encountered on the roads and hiking trails of East Belgium.
At this place, the family members of the farmer Johann Arens followed the custom of erecting a cross at the site of an accident in memory of the victim. Arens worked up on the Hungerberg. He was struck by lightning and found dead shortly afterwards by members of his family. They erected a wayside cross in memory of his tragic death. The hill was given the name Hungerberg because its soil is dry and stony. The yield obtained by the farmers on land of that kind was only just enough to keep them from starving.
The road that goes past the Johann Arens cross is known as the way of the dead. That was the road that the inhabitants of the village of Lascheid used to take their deceased family members to Weweler and have them buried in the cemetery there. According to the legend, the road was built absolutely straight so that the distance to be covered would be as short as possible.
