Hans Tavsens Park in Copenhagen is being reshaped to hold rainwater during extreme downpours, but lowering the ground means first excavating a former burial site. Archaeologists expect to investigate around 3,000 graves beneath the park in Nørrebro, where some of the city’s poorest residents were buried in the 19th century.
The work brings together two very different tasks: protecting today’s neighbourhood from flooding and documenting the lives of people buried beneath its lawns. As NordiskPost reported in October, more than 1,000 skeletons had already been uncovered. The larger figure refers to the estimated scale of the excavation, rather than a completed count.
Why the graves beneath Hans Tavsens Park have to move
The remains lie in ground that must be altered to create depressions for stormwater. Before construction can proceed in each section, archaeologists from the Museum of Copenhagen (Københavns Museum) investigate and record the burials.
Finnish public broadcaster Yle, reporting on a Dagens Nyheter article, explains that Denmark’s museum legislation requires the graves to be examined and documented before the earthworks. Moving the remains is therefore a consequence of constructing the flood protection system.
This is a known burial ground, rather than an unexpected cemetery discovery. A municipal project document from March 2023 already estimated that around 3,000 former graves would need excavation. Archaeology and construction are being carried out in stages.
A park that temporarily holds floodwater
The redesigned landscape will retain water before it passes into the drainage system. The municipality’s project documents specify a stormwater storage capacity of 7,000 cubic metres, with runoff coming from neighbouring Assistens Cemetery and the surrounding area.
Low sections of the park will provide space for water during intense rainfall. An underground pumping station will then move it towards treatment, freeing the depressions again. The aim is to reduce flooding in nearby streets and basements.
On ordinary days, the park will remain a place for recreation. The City of Copenhagen’s current project description combines lowered areas with flat lawns, play facilities and greener public spaces around Hans Tavsens Gade. The scheme is being built with water utility HOFOR as part of the city’s cloudburst plan, its programme for managing extreme rainfall.
A burial ground for Copenhagen’s poor
Between 1847 and 1880, the site was used to bury people unable to afford a grave in the adjacent cemetery. It became a public park in the early 20th century.
A previous archaeological report by the Museum of Copenhagen documents the area’s history as a burial ground for the poor and earlier discoveries of human remains. The wider burial area also contains graves associated with the city’s 1853 cholera epidemic.
The current excavation offers researchers a chance to investigate living conditions among residents whose lives are less visible in the city’s better-known monuments. According to Yle, some of the skeletons will be examined by anthropologists at the University of Copenhagen; other remains will be reburied together after construction.
Construction is expected to finish in 2028
The municipality says construction began in autumn 2025 and is expected to finish in spring 2028. Each section passes from the archaeologists to the construction team, allowing parts of the park to remain open while work continues elsewhere.
