Vestre Kirkegård was opened on 2 November 1870 to accommodate an urgent need for adequate burial places for the growing population of Copenhagen.

Hans Jørgen Holm, who was resident architect for the Copenhagen Burial Services, in collaboration with landscape architect Edvard Glæsel (1858-1915)and city ingeneer stadsingeniør Charles Ambt, was responsible for the overall planning and landscaping of the new cemetery.

Almost all the buildings in the grounds have been designed by Hans Jørgen Holm or Holger Jacobsen who succeeded him as resident architect.

Holm designed both the North Chapel and South Chapel (1906) as well as an office building the gate at the main entrance.

The East Chapel was inaugurated in 1914 to a design by Holger Jacobsen but only remained in use until 1926.