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Sart-en-Fagne
Sart-en-Fagne (Walloon: Li Sårt-è-Fagne) is a section of the Walloon city of Philippeville in the Belgian province of Namur.

The municipality is bordered to the north by Merlemont, to the east by Surice, to the south by Romerée and Matagne-la-Petite, and to the west by Villers-le-Gambon.

It was a municipality in its own right before the merger of the municipalities in 1977.

History
In 1180, the village was already mentioned in a bull of Pope Alexander III under the name of Sart-Sainte-Marie (Sarto sanctae Mariae). Indeed, part of the village was granted to Florennes Abbey by Wiscende, wife of Bernard de Roliers (Roly). In 1233, Yolande, widow of the Lord of Hierges, gave the tithes and the patronage of the church to Leffe Abbey. This double affiliation would give rise to disputes that would only end in 1539 with an agreement between the two religious institutions.

In the 16th century, the lordship belonged to a branch of the Glymes and then, by purchase, to a dean of the council of Florennes. In the following century, it was owned by the Roly family and finally, in the 18th century, by the Groesbeecks.

It was an agricultural village surrounded by woodland.

Situation in 1830 - The population numbered 155 inhabitants in 38 houses. There were 9 horses, 2 foals, 60 cattle, 27 calves and 3 pigs. Logging, a flour mill and a grain mill (barley residue), a brewery.

The monument to the French - On 15th May 1940, eight soldiers from the 13th Zouaves were killed on rue Notre-Dame in front of the first house in Merlemont. They are commemorated by a stone column, set on a stone wall and sheltered by an awning.

The tragic day of 24th January 1944 - On that day, an air battle took place over the area shortly before noon. The fuel tank of an airplane fell on the school near the church, causing a terrible fire that cost the lives of the nine children and their young teacher. In a few minutes, the village lost all its youngsters, causing despair in all families. Only four children escaped this misfortune: two who were staying with relatives in another village, a five-year-old toddler bedridden with flu, and a little girl absent that day...

Three days later, the funeral of the children was presided over by Bishop Charue of Namur, in the midst of a considerable crowd from across the region. A monument was erected next to the church, and in the school a brass plaque bears the names of the children lost. The damaged church, dating from 1875, would be restored in 1967 and would house a double stained-glass window in memory of the children and their teacher, who came from Gimnée.

Anecdote
A miracle survivor in Surice in 1914- On 24th and 25th August, German invaders attacked this village, killing 69 people (half of them refugees from other villages) and burning 130 houses. Luckily, Émile Prangey, from Sart-en-Fagne, who was also to be shot, was saved because he was recognized by a German officer who had met him before the war at the Aubrives factories in France.