Soumagne
Encyclopedia
Soumagne is a municipality
of Belgium
. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege
. On September 1, 2008 Soumagne had a total population of 15,894. The total area is 27.14 km² which gives a population density
of 585 inhabitants per km².
The actual Soumagne is made of several municipalities that were merged in 1977 during the reorganization of the Belgian territory (Merge of the municipalities in Belgium (in French)):
mines
and a large production factory (called "Cooperative"), Soumagne was a flourishing municipality.
After the end of coal mining
, the mines were cleaned and residences as well as shopping areas were built on. Some buildings are kept and transformed into touristical activities (such as "le domaine du Bas-Bois").
Since 1980, due to the higher number of people leaving big cities (Liège
and Verviers
) to more rural municipalities, and due to the highway E40 (European route E40
) passing on its territory, Soumagne recovers 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 are opened and small companies are emerging.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege
Liège (province)
Liège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...
. On September 1, 2008 Soumagne had a total population of 15,894. The total area is 27.14 km² which gives a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 585 inhabitants per km².
The actual Soumagne is made of several municipalities that were merged in 1977 during the reorganization of the Belgian territory (Merge of the municipalities in Belgium (in French)):
- Ayeneux
- Cerexhe-Heuseux
- Évegnée-Tignée
- Mélen
- Micheroux
- Soumagne
History
From the end of the 19th century until the 1960s, due to a lot of coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and a large production factory (called "Cooperative"), Soumagne was a flourishing municipality.
After the end of coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, the mines were cleaned and residences as well as shopping areas were built on. Some buildings are kept and transformed into touristical activities (such as "le domaine du Bas-Bois").
Since 1980, due to the higher number of people leaving big cities (Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
and Verviers
Verviers
Verviers is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. The Verviers municipality includes the old communes of Ensival, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Heusy...
) to more rural municipalities, and due to the highway E40 (European route E40
European route E40
European route E 40 is the longest European route, more than long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border to China....
) passing on its territory, Soumagne recovers 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 are opened and small companies are emerging.
Tourism
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 Domaine Provincial de Wégimont (in French))