This cemetery was inaugurated in 1808, placed in what was at that time the countryside far out of the city of Oslo. It soon became the main graveyard of the city, and during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century almost every important person of Norway's political and cultural life was buried here.
During the 1960s and 1970s a great number of old graves and significant tombstones were taken away and replaced by tombstones from those years. This made the cemetery easier to run, but spoilt its image of being a 19th century graveyard.

Today we are working on bringing it back to something like its 19th century standard. Graves of special interest to the public are restored and significant tombstones are recycled, i.e sold for reuse with new burials, without the old names that are taken away.
Our Saviour's Cemetery today is situated very centrally in Oslo City, and is a beautiful park for rest and peace and at the same time a very interesting guide to the history of the nation. The most visited graves are probably the one belonging to Henrik Ibsen, the famous playwright, and to Edvard Munch the famous painter.