The burial site is situated in the green area of the urban Bydgoszcz Canal Park (Polish: Planty nad Kanałem Bydgoszczem).

1 hectare (2.5 acres)) along the road leading to Szyszkówko (Polish: Czyżkówko, now a district of Bydgoszcz), with the intention of establishing a cemetery for the Roman Catholic inhabitants.

While Polish territory was progressively divided then disappeared from 1795 to 1920, the frequent funerals of distinguished citizens at the Starofamy cemetery were the occasions of patriotic demonstrations, especially during national uprisings (e.g. 1794, 1830–1831).

In 1936, the municipal council adopted a resolution allowing the city to tend for the grave of the painter and patriot Maximilian Piotrowski, buried in the Starofarny site.

[3] During the Nazi occupation, the cemetery was repeatedly assaulted by the occupiers, aiming to destroy any signs of Polishness in the city.

On an early morning of a Sunday of April 1942, the burial area was raided by SA and SS troops who smeared with cement Polish gravestone markings and destroyed grave metal objects.

On 15 July 1964, the necropolis was closed by decision of the Municipal People's Council of Bydgoszcz[3] and renamed Communal Cemetery.

[6] On 12 June 1977, a municipal plan to modernize the road network in the area of the intersection of the streets Focha, Kruszwicka, Nakielska and Grunwaldzka impacted the cemetery.

They encompassed:[5] Much damage was done during the job: The hand-forged grille that used to stand at the cemetery gate was returned to the Poor Clares' Church from where it had been taken after the latter was closed by the Prussians in the 19th century.

Other sectors of the cemetery witnessed unfortunate exhumations area as well, such as the Sergot family grave which granite tombstone disappeared.

Lead by architect Stefan Klajbor, the association succeeded in having the Starofarny cemetery entered into the register of monuments on 28 June 1983 (Nr.

[7] In 1984, a plan for the tidying up, conservation and development of the site was drawn up and in 1985, the diocesan curia of Gniezno transferred freely the premises to the management of the city's administrative authorities.

[10] The southern side of the site houses brick tomb chapels of the following families: Modrakowski, Kościński, Markowski, Łasiński and Bogiński.

At the time prisoners of war, they were moved to then Bromberg and imprisoned in dire conditions in cells located at Friedrichstraße, present day Długa Street.

At the time, this expression of French and Polish patriotism was condemned by the local authorities and Pierre Sorlot was resettled to Hanover.