Soulme ( wa, Soûme) is a village in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

and a district of the municipality of

Doische Doische (; wa, Dweche) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 2,846 inhabitants. The total area is 84.02 km², giving a population density of 34 inhabitants per km². ...

, located in the

province of Namur Namur (; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the West) on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and the French depart ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. The village consists of about 50 houses surrounding the village church. Several of the buildings are from the 18th and 19th centuries. The location has been inhabited at least since

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

times, however, as indicated by archaeological discoveries. The first time the village was mentioned in written sources was 1057. During the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the village belonged to the

Abbey of Florennes Florennes Abbey (french: Abbaye de Florennes) is a former Benedictine monastery in Florennes, province of Namur, Wallonia, Belgium. The abbey was founded in the 11th century, but has left very few visible remains. History A community of canons ...

. The village church was built by monks from the abbey; it still retains its Romanesque tower from this time. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

of the church is from the 16th century, in a

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages * Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes ** Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoke ...

, and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

is also Gothic, from the 13th century. The village mill is from the end of the 17th century. Soulme is a member of the association ''

Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie'' (French; in English: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Wallonia") is a non-profit organisation formed in 1994 to promote, protect and develop a number of villages in Wallonia, Belgium. The association is insp ...

'' ("The Most Beautiful Villages of Wallonia").

References

External links

* Former municipalities of Namur (province) {{Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie