The 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak highlighted the need for improvements in the city's healthcare system. It was therefore decided to build a new hospital and a site was selected on the glacis outside the North Rampart of the city's Fortification Ring which was now finally decommissioned. Royal Building Inspector Christian Hansen, who had recently returned to Denmark from Greece was charged with the design of the building. Construction began in 1859 and the hospital was inaugurated on 19 September 1863.