The old city cemetery, founded in 1790, is located on the outskirts of the city along the Ingul River and is divided into several parts. The main part is the Orthodox cemetery, where Catholics and Protestants were also buried. To the north is the Old Believers' cemetery, and to the south, in the distance, are the Jewish, Karaite, and Muslim cemeteries. Previously, the Jewish and Karaite cemeteries were located in Pisky, but they were later moved, and a tram depot was built on that site.

The Mykolaiv city cemetery was very green, with many beautiful tombstones and crypts. In the center of the cemetery stands the Church of All Saints, built in 1807-1808 through the efforts of naval officials, admiralty servants, merchants, townspeople, and various classes of Mykolaiv. In 1858, the church was rebuilt and expanded with funds from the former church elder, first guild merchant K.N. Sobolev.

In 1876, thanks to the efforts of first guild merchant I.F. Bartenev and with the support of the former commander of the Black Sea Fleet and ports, General-Adjutant N.A. Arkas, the church was surrounded by an iron fence. The church has two altars: in the name of All Saints and Saint Apostle Evangelist John the Theologian. In the same year, with the funds of N.A. Arkas, a two-story chapel was built in the churchyard for the funeral of the deceased.

Next to the church are several graves of historical figures. To the right of the entrance stands a marble tombstone in Gothic style over the family crypt of the Arkas family. Here lie Admiral N.A. Arkas, General Z.A. Arkas, their wives, the son of N.A. Arkas, N.N. Arkas, a composer and ethnographer. In 1936, the remains of M.L. Faleev were transferred here after his crypt was desecrated.

Also to the right were the graves of the crew members of the heroic brig "Mercury." The first belongs to the commander of the brig, aide-de-camp, Captain 1st rank Alexander Ivanovich Kazarsky, who honorably withstood a battle with two Turkish ships in 1829. The monument to Kazarsky is made of polished black granite in the form of a vertical slab about 3 meters high. On the front side, facing the church, the date "May 14, 1829" is engraved at the top, the day of the famous naval battle. Below, on the pedestal under glass, is an image of the brig "Mercury" under full sail, and in the middle, a concise inscription in bronze letters: "Kazarsky."

On the reverse side of the monument, at the top, is a relief bronze medallion with a portrait of Kazarsky, surrounded by a laurel wreath. Below is depicted a bronze coat of arms of Kazarsky in the form of a brig and a pistol, symbolizing the decision to blow up the brig along with the Turkish ships. These attributes were granted to Kazarsky in the coat of arms by decree of Nicholas I. The monument was designed by architect A.A. Avdeev and was approved by the tsar in 1865. The construction of the monument was carried out by the forces and means of the Black Sea Fleet. The monument has survived to this day in a somewhat damaged state, saved from destruction by the cemetery fence.

Next to the monument to Kazarsky is the grave of the former navigator of the "Mercury" I.P. Prokofyev, who was the first to propose to grapple with the Turkish ship and blow up the brig. Unfortunately, the modest tombstone was removed, and instead, a pompous marble monument with an angel, stolen from another grave, was installed without even erasing the traces of the previous inscription.

Here were also buried other crew members of the brig who wished to be buried next to their commander. However, these graves have now disappeared, and their place is covered with faceless asphalt.

Not far from the church are the crypts of the Don brothers, known manufacturers in Mykolaiv. Both monuments are huge pyramids with a cross on top. In the crypt closer to the church are buried the parents of the Don brothers, the wife of A.F. Donskoy, and their children. In the family crypt of L.F. Donskoy, located further away, lie Luka Fedorovich himself and his descendants. The cross from L.F. Donskoy's tombstone has been thrown down and broken at the foot.

Far from the church are two more interesting monuments. One of them is the crypt of Professor V.N. Karazin, the founder of Kharkiv University and the man who provided the government with a list of Decembrists. Karazin came to Mykolaiv to visit his son, who served in the Black Sea Fleet, and fell ill and died here. Currently, in Karazin's crypt, decorated with satanic signs, satanists hold their orgies at night.

The second tombstone is dedicated to the defenders of Sevastopol from 1853-1855, who died from wounds in the Mykolaiv naval hospital. Such monuments were erected at mass graves: in the Solyany area, in the city cemetery, and in other places. The monument was a tall four-sided pyramid with a cross on top, resting on a cannonball. The base of the monument was laid with cannonballs. The monument was surrounded at four corners by cannon barrels buried in the ground, between which anchor chains were stretched. One of these monuments stood before the war in Solyany, and another, even in the post-war period, in the cemetery. The details of the monument were scattered.

In the city cemetery, especially around the church, there are many graves of historical figures. However, the cemetery itself is in a deplorable state: all the crypts are broken open and gaping with robber holes, the burials inside are devastated, and the remains of some have been thrown outside.