The plan for the construction of this network of underground burial galleries originated as early as 1870. For the originator of the plan, it was not only a prestige project but also offered an immediate hygienic solution to the lack of space in cemeteries in and around the major city. Burial galleries were still a novelty in Northern Europe at that time. Six years later, construction of the galleries began.

The first gallery was 31 meters long and was put into use in 1878. That same year, six new galleries were built immediately, and the first tunnel system was not closed until around 1890. In 1935 the most recent section was completed. The oldest part is built in a neoclassical style, while the last galleries are in Art Deco style. The underground tunnels, the longest of which extends over a length of three hundred meters, are altogether more than a kilometer long and accommodate more than four thousand burial niches.