Gamlehaugen, Royal residence in Bergen (Norway)
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Gamlehaugen is a mansion in Bergen, Norway, and the residence of the Norwegian Royal Family in the 2nd biggest city of the country
Gamlehaugen is a mansion in Bergen, Norway, and the residence of the Norwegian Royal Family in the second biggest city of the country. Gamlehaugen has a history that goes as far back as the Middle Ages, and the list of previous owners includes many of the wealthiest men in Bergen. Today owned by the Norwegian state, the most recent private owner of the property was Christian Michelsen (1857-1925), a politician and shipping magnate who would later become the first Prime Minister of independent Norway after the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1905.
In 1898, Christian Michelsen, a politician and shipping magnate, bought the property. He demolished the existing main building, a Swiss chalet style mansion, and ordered the construction of a new building in the style of a Scottish baronial castle. The architect was Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland, who would later designed the Bergen Railway Station and the brick buildings at Bryggen. The construction was finished in 1900, and Michelsen with family moved in the following year. He delegated the task of converting the farmlands surrounding the building into a park to gardener Olav Moen, who designed it as an English garden-style park. Barring his years as Prime Minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907, Christian Michelsen lived at Gamlehaugen for the remainder of his life.
The park is open to the public whenever the royal family is not using the property.
HDR from 3 exposures. Tone mapped using Photomatix Pro.
Submitted By: frederic
Dec 9, 2009 09:18 AM
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