It was founded by Duke Albrecht V as a plague cemetery in 1563 about half a kilometer south of the Sendlinger Gate between Thalkirchner and Pestalozzistraße.

The cemetery was established in 1563, during the reign of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria, for victims of the plague and located outside the city gates.

It was also the burial ground of the dead from the Sendling uprising of 1705, in which over 1100 were killed after they had surrendered to the troops of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor.

The cemetery today serves as an Art and Cultural history monument, and is open to the public as an official Munich park.

Most of the monuments, which suffered from exposure to weather and pollution, have been renovated and cleaned, in a three-year project (2004–2007).