Moscou, Ghent

Moscou (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɔskʌu] ⓘ) is a densely populated neighbourhood of the Belgian city of Ghent, which owes its peculiar name to the presence of the Russian army in 1814-1815.

On February 4, the Russian army, including Cossacks but also some Prussian hussars commanded by colonel Novosinovits-Menshikov (who took up residence on the Ghent Kouter) entered the town as liberators.

Bishalov resided at the Kouter, but, because of their reputation, the soldiers were not welcome to settle anywhere within city walls and endlessly moved around before, on February 18, they left for the north to defeat a French army unit at Sas van Gent.

On March 24, the Cossacks celebrated Emperor Alexander I's accession day, by organizing, amongst other things, a cavalcade in the centre of Ghent, turning the Kouter into a manege.

The Ghent city administration restricts Moscou (merged with the smaller neighbourhood of Vogelhoek) to what used to be part of Gentbrugge, near Merelbeke railway station,[4] but local inhabitants often incorporate adjacent parts of Ledeberg, like the Papeleu park with its Russian-style apartment block[5] Most of the action in the 2008 Flemish film Moscow, Belgium, which put Moscou on the international map, also takes place in Ledeberg.

Tram 4 on its way to Moscou