Soumagne (, ) is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of
Wallonia
Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
located in the
province of Liège,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
.
On September 1, 2008, Soumagne had a total population of 15,894. The total area is 27.14 km
2 which gives a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of 585 inhabitants per km
2.
The municipality consists of the following
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
:
Ayeneux,
Cerexhe-Heuseux,
Évegnée-Tignée,
Mélen,
Micheroux, and Soumagne.
History
From the end of the 19th century until the 1960s, Soumagne was a flourishing municipality with numerous
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
mines and a large Cooperative factory.
After the end of
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
, the mines were cleaned and residences as well as shopping areas were built. Some buildings are kept and transformed into tourism activities (such as "le domaine du Bas-Bois").
During the
German invasion of Belgium at the beginning of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the
Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
killed 118 civilians and burned 100 houses in the village as
collective punishment
Collective punishment is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group or whole community for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member or some members of that group or area, which could be an ethnic or political group, or just the family, friends a ...
for the
Belgian Army
The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...
’s resistance of the invasion from the nearby
Fort de Fléron.
Since 1980, the higher number of people leaving big cities (
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
and
Verviers
Verviers (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the cent ...
) for more rural municipalities, with the
E40 motorway passing on its territory, Soumagne recovered from the loss of coal mining and the end of the Cooperative. In that period, houses are built due to a new, and young, population settling down in Soumagne. A lot of new shops and commercial centers opened and small companies are emerging.
Attractions
There are a few touristic points in Soumange (among others):
* the Evegnée fountain (natural fountain in a rural landscape)
* Saint-Lambert church (built during the 13th century, burnt in 1694 and rebuilt)
* "Domaine du Bas-Bois" (a former coal mine site)
*
Wégimont Castle (14th century construction changed through the centuries with a park transformed into a family amusement area)
See also
*
List of protected heritage sites in Soumagne
References
External links
*
Domaine Provincial de Wégimont (in French)
Municipalities of Liège Province
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