1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak

Medical professionals had since the 1840s warned against the dismal sanitary conditions in the city as a combination of a lack of proper sanitary installations and services and increasing overpopulation due to the ban of urban development outside the City Walls.

From Copenhagen the outbreak spread to the provinces where 24 towns were hit and 1,951 people died.

[2] The cholera outbreak was a key factor in the decision to decommission Copenhagen's fortifications, although the step was long overdue and had been underway for decades.

The cholera outbreak also contributed to the city's decision to build a new cattle market, the so-called Brown Meat District, and a safer municipal water supply.

[citation needed] It also resulted in several housing developments built by philanthropic organisations to provide healthy homes outside the city centre for people of few means.