Soulme
Fagne Famenne

Perched atop a hill overlooking the Hermeton valley, the small village of Soulme is marked off by the Romanesque tower of his church. Perché au sommet d’une colline dominant la vallée de l’Hermeton, le petit village de Soulme est signalé au loin par la massive tour de son église.

Province : Namur
Commune : Doische

 

Surrounded endless preserved countryside, this village of the Fagne region is located remotely from the main roads which gives the streets a race sence of peace. The fifty houses that make up the village are grouped around the church and date mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries. Limestone or covered with traditional whitewash and toped by a slate roofs, they form generous public spaces. Here and there, a few tradionnal farmhouses are still active, so you might cross a tractor or two...

The village heart is a great place to start a hike, following one of the rural or forest roads, leading to the Hermeton river and its tributary the Omeri.

© Photographies: 3,5,10 Clémence Moreau / 1-2,4,6-9,11,13-14 Mark Rossignol / 12 François Delfosse

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Fagne Famenne

Paysage

The Fagne-Famenne is shaped as a broad depression, grooved by abundant secondairy streams. Stretching between the plateau of Condroz and the forests of the Ardenne, this landscape offers a relatively smooth terrain, structured by wooded stripes, alternating with meadows, punctuated with villages. A particular area, called "Calestienne", rings the shaly depression of the Fagne (west from the Meuse) and of the Famenne (east from the Meuse), thus assuring a visible transition along the Ardenne's plateau. This thin limestone ledge is ligned with long hills, called "tiennes".

In this natural context, people mostly established themselves on the meridional part of the region. Choosing the contact zones between the limestone plateau and the shaly depression, villages have been established close to the springs, taking advantage of the morning sunshine whilst protected from winds, and near the fields. The Fagne-Famenne settelments display an agrair structure matching the openfield model, with predominating meadows. The location for grouwing crops, meadows or woods are dictated by the quality ofthe terrain: The shaly valley bottoms, with their wet and poor grounds, welcome meadows and orchards, where remnants of hedges remain, in the form of non-trimmed bushes. The ledges of the limestone plateau, full of nutritive elements, are occupied by non-enclosed plowings, while the steep slopes and the "tiennes", with their shalow soils, are suitible for woods and extensive grasing areas. Once grazed by sheep, these calcareous grasslands hide a natural habitat full of an exceptionnal biodiversity. In the Famenne, most villages show a high density of houses, with buildings very close to one another. Frequently set on a slope, villages seem to descend from the ridges, though carefully avoiding the bottom of the depression. On the Fagne side, scatered farmhouses are freqeuently found between villages.

Sources : CPDT - FRW

Traditional countryside habitat

In Famenne as in Fagne, rural buildings belong to the "block" farmhouse type, including all functions under one roof: living room or rooms, the stable and barn. Showing the geologic diversity, traditional houses display a wide range of materials and textures. Though limestone, painted or not, is preponderant, the careful observer will detect the presence of shale, sandstone or even red brick. Finally, here and there, some timber framed masonry remains, witnesses of ancien construction traditions.

Older Fagne's buildings are characterised by a large attic structure underneath the roof.

Sources : CPDT - FRW

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