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Vottem ( wa, Votem) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Herstal, located in the
province of Liège A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
, Belgium. The Rida river has its springs in Vottem. It was a fully-fledged municipality up to 1976. The Jolivet and Bernalmont hamlets had already been transferred to the town of
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
.


Hamlets and neighbourhoods

* Bouxhtay, ''Å Bouh'tè, Å Bouf'tè'', hamlet mentioned since 1278 * Chapeauville, ''A chapêvêye'', neighbourhood mentioned since 1534 * Cheval Blanc, ''Å blanc Dj'vå'', after the "White Horse inn" that was located there * Croix Jouette, ''Creû Djouwète'', hamlet mentioned since 1552 * Gaillard-Cheval, ''Å Galiår'', hamlet mentioned since 1530 * Gascogniers, ''Ås Cascognîs'', hamlet mentioned since 1812 * Haxhes, ''Hå'', ''Håhe'' * Haren, ''Harin'' * Jolivet, ''è Djolivè'' (hamlet mentioned since 1430; transferred to Liège in 1975) * Tiyou, after the Walloon word for the linden that was once growing there. There was also an old windmill, Moulin Bouquette which was destroyed around 1970 for sake of highway construction.


Geology and soils

Vottem is at the limit of the Hesbaye Plateau and the Meuse valley. From higher to lower locations in the village, there are the following geological formations:Bourguignon, . TEXTE EXPLICATIF DE LA CARTE DES SOLS DE LA BELGIQUE. TEXTE EXPLICATIF DE LA PLANCHETTE DE Liège 121E. Édité sous les auspices de l'Institut pour l'encouragement de la Recherche Scientifique dans l'Industrie et l'Agriculture (I. R. S. I. A.) http://carto1.wallonie.be/Documents/CSB/Livrets/121E.PDF * Pleistocene aeolian
loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
* Tertiary sands (
Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
) *
Clay with flint Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay parti ...
* Maastrichtian chalk ( Cretaceous) - it makes up the Hesbaye aquifer * Herve clay or smectite * Sandstone, schists and coal pertaining to the
Palaeozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and '' ...
(also called ''Houiller'') Locally, near the Rida springs,
freshwater tufa Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...
has been deposited. Dominant soils in Vottem are well drained loamy soils(Ab) and gravelly loamy soils with silex, quite well drained also (Gb). The latter are directly related to outcrops of clay-with-flint. Remarkably, on the soil map, spring areas are not differentiated, most probably in relation to a low augering density (one per ha)


Important buildings

* The Saint Étienne catholic church dates from 1788. It is a neo-classical church, holding a squared tower at the western side, in bricks and stone. It has been restored in 1966, and the old furniture disappeared at that time. One of the church bells dated from 1838,; it was stolen by the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
occupier in 1943.Fraikin, J., Gérard, P., Carpay, F., Matthys, H., Noelanders, J., Donis, P., 1987. ''Le temps où Vottem riait. Tome I. Histoire et Anecdotes de notre village''. Ans, Imprimerie Frings. * Temple of the Antoinist cult * Bouxthay Chapel (ruined) * There used to be two windmills in Vottem, the ''Moulin Depireux'' and the ''Moulin Bouquette''; their towers remained in the landscape until 1970, when they were destroyed to make room for the highway. * The " Centre pour Illégaux de Vottem" (CIV) exists since 1999. Non-accepted asylum seekers reside here, before travelling back to their home country. People sleep in rooms with four beds.


Public footpaths

Vottem holds 26 km of public footpaths, out of which 14 km are in good shape, 2 km are difficult (often included in croplands), 1 km illegally closed, 2 km inaccessible with unknown status and 5 km have been officially abandoned (often for sake of highway construction).Itinéraires Wallonie - Vottem https://www.balnam.be/localite/vottem This high density of footpaths is explained by the previous dominance of horticulture in this village. The intensive work in the gardens required a lot of foot mobility; and the products were transported to the local auction market by hand carts; the width of the footpaths was adjusted to these carts: minimum 1.17 metres.


References

{{Reflist Herstal Former municipalities of Liège Province