[Edit]History
Further information: History of Moscow
[Edit]Prehistory to the Time of Troubles
Fortified St. Andronik Monasteryon the Yauza, part of the medieval defence ring around Moscow
The first mention of the Yauza (as Auza) in Russian chronicles is directly connected to the foundation of Moscow: according to the chronicles, in 1156 Yury Dolgoruky "founded Moscow at the estuary of Neglinnaya above the Yauza"[2][20] on the site owned by Stepan Kuchka and known through another chronicle since 1147. There is no generally accepted etymology for Yauza or Auza. Similar toponyms (Auzas, Auzes, Auzi) exist in modern Latvia; the Baltic origins of Yauza are generally accepted but have not been proven.[21]
Medieval Moscow grew from its Kremlin primarily in a northeasterly direction, towards the Yauza.[20] St. Andronik Monastery on the Yauza (established in 1357) formed the eastern defence arc, together with the Pokrovsky and Novospassky monasteries. The Yauza was used as a commercial waterway from Moscow toVladimir until the 16th century; boats that reached the upper Yauza were dragged over land to the Klyazma River. After the fire of 1494, Ivan III of Russia set up his country residence on the western bank of the Yauza in Vorontsovo[22] ( 55°45′7″N 37°39′5″E). During the same period potters, blacksmiths and other craftsmen deemed a fire hazard were evicted from Moscow proper onto the opposite, eastern bank of the Yauza (the present-day area of Taganka Square),[3] thus beginning the industrialization of the river.
[Edit]17th and 18th centuries
Rostokino Aqueduct crosses the Yauza north from Alekseyevskoye, former country residence of Alexis of Russia.
Slobodas (settlements) of metalworkers' guilds expanded and in the 17th century Taganka became the most densely-populated, remote area of the city.[3] The lower Yauza was used by numerous watermills and public baths tending to the growing population.[3]
Suburban valleys of the Yauza also flourished under the early Romanovs. Mikhail of Russia established his country palace in Rubtsovo ( 55°46′56″N 37°41′42″E) and his former rival Dmitry Pozharsky lived further out, in Medvedkovo on the Yauza ( 55°51′55″N 37°38′17″E). Alexis I of Russia established a chain of country residencies in Preobrazhenskoye and Alekseevskoye ( 55°49′5″N 37°38′40″E) on the Yauza, and Izmaylovo Estate on its Serebryanka tributary. In 1653 Alexis yielded to the pressure of Orthodox clergy and expelled Catholics and Protestants from Moscow; they resettled into the German Quarter on the eastern bank of the Yauza, isolated from the city by the marshes around the Kokuy and Chechora streams.
Peter I established his own headquarters in Preobrazhenskoye, and was a regular guest at the German Quarter. He neglected his father's palaces, instead concentrating on the military (Preobrazhensky Lifeguard regiment, established 1687) and supporting the industries spreading on both banks of the river.Bartolomeo Rastrelli erected Annenhof, a summer residence for empress Anna of Russia, in Lefortovo in 1731. Annenhof burnt down in 1746 and was eventually replaced by Catherine's Palace ( 55°45′42″N 37°41′44″E), designed by Giacomo Quarenghi; the palace now houses a military academy,[23] and the former palace gardens are a public park. Elizabeth of Russia built her country palace in Rubtsovo, on the site of Mikhail's former residence ( 55°46′56″N 37°41′42″E), from 1735–1743.
The Old Believers, a persecuted religious minority, were allowed to practice their beliefs in two isolated communities east of the Yauza (Rogozhskoye Cemeteryand Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery)[24] beginning in the 1770s. Edinoverie, a moderate branch of Old Believers in communion with the official Orthodox Church, built a large church complex on a high eastern bank of Yauza in Lefortovo ( 55°45′27″N 37°40′49″E).
In 1779 Catherine II authorized the construction of Moscow's first water supply network. Water from underground aquifers in the upper Yauza basin flowed to downtown Moscow through underground pipes, surface canals and an aqueduct which crossed the Yauza valley in Rostokino. After numerous delays and setbacks, the system was commissioned in 1804 and operated into the 20th century; Yauza aquifers are still used by the city of Mytishchi.[25]