The Neglinnaya ( rus, Неглинная, p=nʲɪˈɡlʲinːəjə), also known as Neglinka, Neglinna, Neglimna (Неглинка, Неглинна, Неглимна), is a 7.5 km underground river in the central part of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the river Moskva. It flows in the tunnels under Samotechnaya Street, Tsvetnoy Boulevard,

Neglinnaya Street Neglinnaya Street (Russian: Неглинная улица) is a street inside the Garden Ring of Moscow, Russia. It runs from the Bolshoi Theatre to the Trubnaya Square. The street was paved over the underground Neglinnaya River in 1819. Throu ...

and

Alexander Garden Alexander Gardens (russian: Александровский сад) was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow, Russia. The park comprises three separate gardens, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for between ...

and

Zaryadye Zaryadye ( rus, Зарядье, p=zɐˈrʲædʲje) is a historical district in Moscow established in 12th or 13th century within Kitai-gorod, between Varvarka Street and Moskva River. The name means "the place behind the rows", i.e., behind the ma ...

. The Neglinnaya discharges into the Moskva through two separate tunnels near

Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge (russian: Большой Каменный мост, ''Greater Stone Bridge'') is a steel arch bridge spanning Moskva River at the western end of the Moscow Kremlin. Its predecessor was the first permanent stone bridge in ...

and

Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge (russian: Большой Москворецкий мост, link=no) is a concrete arch bridge that spans the Moskva River in Moscow, Russia, immediately east of the Kremlin. The bridge connects Red Square with Bolsh ...

History

The river in its natural state used to flow openly from the northern parts of

to the south across the very centre of the city. The Kremlin was built on a hill east of the Neglinnaya, using the river as a moat. The moat did not stop foreign invasions but slowed development of territories west of the Kremlin; initially, the city grew eastward, into

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

and

Kitay-gorod Kitay-gorod ( rus, Китай-город, p=kʲɪˈtaj ˈɡorət), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants ...

. When Muscovites began settling on the western side, territories around the Neglinnaya remained vacant due to frequent flooding. Muscovites constructed a number of

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s, creating a chain of six interconnected

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

s, used for firefighting, with

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s, forges,

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...

s and

public bath Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

s (Moscow's two best-known public baths, Central and Sandunovsky, built in 1890s, are still located on

). There were four

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s across the Neglinnaya River: Voskresensky Bridge (its fragments unearthed during a 1994 excavation), three-span Kuznetsky Bridge, Trinity Bridge and Petrovsky Bridge (the remains of the last were discovered during the reconstruction of the

Maly Theatre The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres: * The Maly Theatre (Moscow), also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow (founded in 1756 and given its own building in 1824) * The Maly Thea ...

). The first plans to rebuild the Neglinnaya River, presented in 1775, materialized in 1792. A new

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

, one

sazhen A native system of weights and measures was used in Imperial Russia and after the Russian Revolution, but it was abandoned after 21 July 1925, when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system, per the order of the Council of People's Commissars. ...

(2.13 m) wide, was laid parallel to the Neglinnaya; after diverting water into the channel, builders filled the old river bed with earth. After the

Fire of Moscow (1812) Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

, the canal was so polluted that the city cleared it and covered with a masonry vault, creating the first Neglinnaya Tunnel (1817-1819), which also formed present-day

and Theatre Square. Before centralised city sewage (1887), the tunnel doubled as a sewer, dumping the refuse into the Moskva River. The first reconstruction (1910—1914) replaced part of the tunnel with a larger pipe, but was terminated by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. This new pipe, designed by engineer Schekotov (''Schekotov Tunnel''), was adequate by any standard, and could suffice, if completed in full length. Narrow cross-section of old pipe, however, could not accommodate the volume of water, especially during

high water Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

and

freshet The term ''freshet'' is most commonly used to describe a spring thaw resulting from snow and ice melt in rivers located in upper North America. A spring freshet can sometimes last several weeks on large river systems, resulting in significant in ...

s, flooding central streets; the most recent catastrophic floods occurred in 1965 (twice) and 1973 (also twice). In 1966, the city built a second arm for the Neglinnaya River (length: 1 km,

width Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

: 4 m), cutting the path under

. In 1974–1989, after the 1973 flood, the city built a completely-new 4 km tunnel, 3.47 m high and 4.90 m wide, from Durova Street to Metropol Hotel (where the tunnel forks into two branches). The old tunnel was reused as a pipe and cable conduit. Present-day ponds on Manezhnaya Square (1996) are not the Neglinnaya River but an imitation. The real river runs too deep to be properly displayed. The area is dotted with diminutive statues on subjects taken from Russian

fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...

s designed by

Zurab Tsereteli Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli ( ka, ზურაბ კონსტანტინეს ძე წერეთელი, russian: Зураб Константинович Церетели; born 4 January 1934) is a Georgian-Russian painter, sc ...

Gallery

File:Vasnetsov Lubyanoy torg na Trube.jpg, "Truba" ("Tube") in wall of

Bely Gorod Bely Gorod ( rus, Бе́лый го́род, p=ˈbʲelɨj ˈɡorət, "White City") is the central core area of Moscow, Russia beyond the Kremlin and Kitay-gorod. The name comes from the color of its defensive wall, which was erected in 1585–15 ...

. By Apollinary Vasnetsov File:Vasnetsov Pushechno-Liteyny dvor.jpg, Kuznetsky Bridge. By Apollinary Vasnetsov File:Vasnetsov Na rassvete u Voskresenskogo mosta.jpg, Voskresensky Bridge. By Apollinary Vasnetsov. Away see Troitsky Bridge File:Vasnetsov Staroye ustye Neglinnoy 17 vek-1924.jpg, Mouth of Neglinnaya. By Apollinary Vasnetsov image:Neglinka001.jpg, Neglinnaya River approximately under the Animal Theatre image:Neglinka002.jpg, Numerous small connecting pipes to the underground river image:Neglinka003.jpg, Connecting tunnels image:Neglinka004.jpg, Modern section of the tunnel image:Neglinka005.jpg, Modern section connecting a historical length of the tunnel image:Neglinka006.jpg, Historical length of the tunnel image:Neglinka007.jpg, Junction of tunnels image:Neglinka008.jpg, Surface exit

External links

* {{in lang, ru Contractors report with photographs of the 1965 floo
www.mosinzhproekt.ru
Rivers of Moscow History of Moscow Rivers of Moscow Oblast Subterranean rivers