[1] The cemetery houses the graves of many notable citizens of Gothenburg, whose work and donations helped shape the city.

The cemetery was designed by architect J. H. Strömberg and inaugurated on 16 November 1860 by dean Peter Wieselgren under the name Begravningsplatsen ("The Burial Place").

The first burial took place on 27 February 1861; a twenty-year old young man named Frans Ludvig Moberg.

During the first year of operation, 348 adults and 648 children were buried there, as measles and diphtheria were raging in the city.

[3] In 1890, the first crematory in Gothenburg was opened, designed by Swedish architect Hans Hedlund.