Editing Soumagne

{{Short description|Municipality in Liège Province, Belgium}}
{{Infobox Belgium municipality
|name=Soumagne
|native_name={{native_name|wa|Soûmagne}}
|picture= Soumagne-Vallée.jpg
|picture-legend=
|map=Soumagne Liège Belgium Map.svg
|map-legend=Location of Soumagne in Liège province
|arms= Soumagne_wapen.svg
|flag=
|region={{BE-REG-WAL}}
|community={{BE-FR}}
|province={{BE-PROV-LG}}
|arrondissement=[[Arrondissement of Liège|Liège]]
|nis=62099
|pyramid-date=
|0-19=25.5
|20-64=60.2
|65=14.3
|foreigners=
|foreigners-date=
|mayor=Benjamin Houet ([[Reformist Movement|MR]])<br>(SOUMAGNE DEMAIN)
|majority=SOUMAGNE DEMAIN - ICI Soumagne - ECOLO +
|postal-codes=4630-4633
|telephone-area=04
|web=[http://www.soumagne.be/ www.soumagne.be]
|coordinates = {{coord|50|37|N|05|45|E|region:BE|display=inline,title}}
}}

'''Soumagne''' ({{IPA|fr|sumaɲ}}, {{langx|wa|Soûmagne}}) is a [[Municipalities of Belgium|municipality]] of [[Wallonia]] located in the [[Liège Province|province of Liège]], [[Belgium]]. 

On September 1, 2008, Soumagne had a total population of 15,894.<ref>Direction Generale Institutions et Population, {{cite web |url=http://www.ibz.rrn.fgov.be/fileadmin/user_upload/Registre/fr/statistiques_population/stat_1_f.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-04-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419074752/http://www.ibz.rrn.fgov.be/fileadmin/user_upload/Registre/fr/statistiques_population/stat_1_f.pdf |archive-date=2009-04-19 }}</ref> The total area is 27.14&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> which gives a [[population density]] of 585 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>.

The municipality consists of the following [[Fusion of the Belgian municipalities|districts]]: [[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]] [[Mining|mines]] and a large Cooperative factory.
After the end of [[coal mining]], 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 (1914)|German invasion of Belgium]] at the beginning of [[World War I]], the [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]] killed 118 civilians and burned 100 houses in the village as [[collective punishment]] for the [[Belgian Land Component|Belgian Army]]’s resistance of the invasion from the nearby [[Fort de Fléron]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hastings|first=Max|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/828893101|title=Catastrophe 1914 : Europe goes to war|date=2013|isbn=978-0-307-59705-2|edition=First American|location=New York|oclc=828893101}}</ref>

Since 1980, the higher number of people leaving big cities ([[Liège]] and [[Verviers]]) for more rural municipalities, with the [[European route E40|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)

[[Image:Soumagne, Sint Lambertuskerk foto4 2011-09-26 12.52.JPG|thumb|none|160px|Soumagne, church: église Saint Lambert]]

==See also==
* [[List of protected heritage sites in Soumagne]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.prov-liege.be/wegimont/ Domaine Provincial de Wégimont (in French)]

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Soumagne
|N = [[Blegny]]
|E = [[Herve]]
|S = [[Olne]]
|W = [[Fléron]]
}}
{{Municipalities in Liège}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Soumagne| ]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Liège Province]]
{{Liege-geo-stub}}