View source for Soignies

{{Infobox Belgium municipality
|name=Soignies
|native_name={{native_name|pcd|Sougniye}}
|namenl = Zinnik
|picture=Soignies JPG001.jpg
|picture-legend=The {{ill|Saint-Vincent collegiate church|fr|Collégiale Saint-Vincent de Soignies}} (10th century) and the square on the "Place Verte"
|map=Soignies Hainaut Belgium Map.svg
|map-legend=Location of Soignies in Hainaut
|arms=CommunesBelgique-Soignies.svg
|flag=Soignies_Belgium.svg
|region={{BE-REG-WAL}}
|community={{BE-FR}}
|province={{BE-PROV-HT}}
|arrondissement=[[Arrondissement of Soignies|Soignies]]
|nis=55040
|pyramid-date=
|0-19=
|20-64=
|65=
|foreigners=
|foreigners-date=
|mayor=Fabienne Winckel (PS)
|majority=[[Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)|PS]], [[Mouvement Réformateur|MR]], [[Ecolo]]
|postal-codes=7060-7063
|telephone-area=065/067
|web=[http://www.soignies.be/ www.soignies.be]
|coordinates = {{coord|50|34|N|04|04|E|region:BE|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Soignies''' ({{IPA|fr|swaɲi|-|LL-Q150 (fra)-Manestra-Soignies.wav}}; {{langx|nl|Zinnik}}, {{IPA|nl|ˈzɪnɪk|pron}}; {{langx|pcd|Sougniye}}; {{langx|wa|Sougniye}}) is a [[Municipalities in Belgium|municipality]] of [[Wallonia]] located in the [[Hainaut Province|province of Hainaut]], [[Belgium]].

It consists of the following districts: [[Casteau]], [[Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies]], [[Horrues]], [[Naast, Soignies|Naast]], [[Neufvilles]], Soignies and [[Thieusies]]. Casteau is known worldwide because [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe|SHAPE]], the military headquarters of [[NATO]], has been based at the village since 1967.

The name of Soignies comes from the Latin word ''suniacum'', which means "on the Senne". The spring of the [[Zenne|Senne]] is near Soignies. After Soignies, the river flows through [[Brussels]].

Soignies is also well known for its blue [[limestone]] (from the ''Carrières du Hainaut'') and its glass industry (Durobor).

==History==

[[Image:Soignies JPG00.jpg|thumb|left|St. Vincent's Collegiate church]]

===Saint Vincent===

The known history of the region starts in the 7th century. The [[Franks|Frankish]] merchant [[Samo]], who founded an [[Samo's Empire|empire]] in Central Europe, may have come from Soignies (Latin: ''pagus Senonagus'').<ref>Chronicle of Fredegar, 4.48, edited and translated in J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, ''The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its continuations'' (London 1960). ''Pagus Senonago'' could also be the district of Sens in modern France.</ref> In the 670s, [[Madelgaire]], a wealthy former governor under King [[Dagobert I]], and his wife [[Waltrude]] decided to separate and devote themselves to a religious life. Both of them founded an abbey, Madelgaire in Soignies and Waltrude in neighbouring [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]]. Madelgaire took the religious name of Vincent. Like his wife, he was [[canonized]] after his death and later became the [[patron saint]] of the city that would eventually grow around the monastery. At that time, a large forest covered the whole area, the remnants of which near [[Brussels]] are still called the [[Sonian Forest]] ([[French language|French]]: ''Forêt de Soignes'', [[Dutch language|Dutch]]: ''Zoniënwoud'') today. The existence of the abbey of Soignies is mentioned for the first time in the [[Treaty of Meersen]], dated August 8, 870, as one of King [[Charles the Bald]]'s possessions.

===The age of the canons===

At the end of the 9th century, a general decline in religious life led to a chapter of powerful [[Canon (priest)|canons]] &ndash; who did not take any vow of poverty &ndash; taking the place of the monks. These canons would remain in power for eight centuries, until the [[French Revolution]]. By the 10th century, the canons started the construction of the church of Saint Vincent (Madelgaire), which was to be completed during the following century in the prevalent [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style of the period. The first known charter by [[Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut]] was granted to Soignies in 1142. The fame of the church of Saint Vincent grew in the 13th century, when the [[bishop of Cambrai]] granted a 40-day [[indulgence]] to every visitor to the church. The settlement grew to urban proportions at around the same time, coinciding with the development of the textile industry and the building of a [[defensive wall]]. The first stone quarries mentioned in the archives date from around 1400, but several clues suggest that local stone was already quarried much earlier. The cut-stone industry, however, started only around 1700.

===1789–present===
[[File:Soignies - Garde Impériale 2.JPG|thumb|right|280px|Folk group "The Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard".]]
On 1 September 1796, the revolutionary council disbanded the local administration by the canons, dealing a heavy blow to the local economy. In 1812, only 92 people worked in the quarries on a total population of about 4,000 people. The industry rebounded under the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] regime, and even more after the [[Belgian Revolution]] of 1830. 

Between 1831 and 1995, Soignies elected its own member of the [[Soignies (Chamber of Representatives constituency)|Chamber of Representatives]]. Several of the city streets are named after these past representatives.

Today, the cut-stone and glass industries are still active. Soignies is also the center of a vibrant service industry, especially in education and health.

==Sights==

*The [[Collegiate Church of Saint-Vincent (Soignies)|collegiate church of Saint-Vincent]]<ref name="Saint Vincent">{{cite book | last = Ghislain | first = Jean-Claude | title = La Collégiale Romane de Soignies | year = 1975 | others = Collection Wallonie, Art et Histoire, Ed. Duculot|url=http://www.soignies.com | language = French}}</ref> is one of the earliest specimens of [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] churches in Belgium. The choir dates from the beginning of the 11th century while the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] west tower dates from around 1250. The cemetery still has tombs of the 13th and 14th century.
*Near the church stands the Cloth Market (in [[French language|French]] ''Halle aux Draps''), dating from the 16th century.

==Festivities==

*The origins of the ''Processio'' of Saint Vincent (Madelgaire)<ref name="Processio">{{cite book | last = Bavay | first = Gérard | title = Au fil des chapelles… les chemins du Grand Tour Saint-Vincent de Soignies | location = Soignies | year = 1992 | pages = 87 p | url=http://cpierart.free.fr/procession| language = French}}</ref> are not well known. It is certain, however, that it already took place as early as the 13th century. Today, every Monday of [[Pentecost]], the [[reliquary]] of Saint Vincent is carried in a historic procession along a predetermined 11-km-long circuit around town, known as the ''Grand Tour Saint Vincent''.
*The Saturday preceding the third Sunday of October is the date of the local [[carnival]]. The festivities are known as ''La Simpélourd'' &ndash; from the contraction of two [[French language|French]] words meaning simple and heavy &ndash; after a [[cuckold]] who lived in Soignies more than 200 years ago. This character still takes central stage in the colourful celebration.

== Sport ==
Soignies is home to [[Rugby Union]] club [[RC Soignies]], winners of the [[Belgian Cup (Rugby Union)|Belgian Cup]] in 2010.

==People born in Soignies==
*[[Samo]], Frankish merchant and later king (''rex'') of the 7th-century Slavic state known as Samo's Empire (Soignies is one of two presumed birthplaces, the other being [[Sens]])
*[[Guillaume Malbecque]], [[Flanders|Flemish]] composer (c. 1400–1465)
*[[François de Cuvilliés]], Rococo architect (1695–1768)
*[[Jules Bordet]], immunologist and microbiologist (1870–1961)
*[[Paul van Zeeland]], lawyer, economist, and politician (1893–1973)
*[[Johan Walem]], football player and TV consultant (born 1972)
*[[Chris Richardson]], American singer-songwriter (born 1984)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.soignies.be Official website] (in [[French language|French]])
*[http://www.soignies.com/ Alternative site], with much information on the city (in [[French language|French]])
*[http://cpierart.free.fr/procession/ Soignies, City of St Vincent] (in [[French language|French]])

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Soignies
|N  = [[Silly, Belgium|Silly]]
|E  = [[Braine-le-Comte]]<br/>[[Écaussinnes]]
|SE = [[Le Rœulx]]
|SW = [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]]
|W  = [[Lens, Belgium|Lens]]<br/>[[Jurbise]]
}}
{{Hainaut}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Wallonia]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Hainaut (province)]]
[[Category:Romanesque architecture in Belgium]]
[[Category:Wallonia's Major Heritage]]