Originally named
Soldaterkirkegården (Soldiers' Cemetery), Garrison Cemetery was founded by a decree from King
Frederick III and laid out in 1664 on a site outside the
Bastioned Fortifications, next to the main road leading in and out of the
Eastern City Gate and opposite the naval
Holmens Cemetery which was laid out around the same time. Burials began the same year but the site, former marshland, was rather unsuitable for the purpose since ground water levels made it hard to bury the bodies in sufficiently deep grounds. In 1671, some improvements were made when the site was enclosed by pallisades and ditches and the cemetery was officially inaugurated on 13 July 1671. During the first decades, the cemetery remained relatively little used. In 1706, the
Garrison Church was built on
Sankt Annæ Plads. and in 1723 the ''Soldiers' Cemetery'' received its current name. In 1711, Copenhagen was struck by an outbreak of plague which killed an estimated 23,000 citizens. In a move to control disease, the authorities provided that all victims of the plague, within 24 hours and without a ceremony, had to be buried at Garrison Cemetery or a Municipal Plague Cemetery which was set up next to it. In 1720, Garrison Cemetery was officially opened to civilian burials. The cemetery was neglected and gradually fell into disrepair. In 1812 it was renovated and from then on began to attract more prominent citizens. ==Garrison Cemetery today==