Gamlehaugen
Gamlehaugen is a castle in Norway . It serves as the official residence of the Norwegian royal family when they are in Bergen .
location
Gamlehaugen is about seven kilometers south of Bergen in the district of Fjøsanger . The castle is located on a hill at the northern end of Nordåsvannet , a branch of the Grimstadfjorden .
history
In the Middle Ages , the area around the farmhouse, which was not yet named, was used for agriculture and forestry, but was abandoned when the plague broke out and lay fallow. Gamlehaugen is mentioned by name for the first time in 1665, again in connection with agricultural use. In 1708 the farmhouse was merged with the Fjøsang manor house. It was not until 1809, owned by Danckert Krohn, who bought the property in 1774, that Gamlehaugen was separated from Fjøsanger and became independent. After Krohn's death, his niece took over the property, but had it run by housekeepers and the main building was built around 1812. Alexander Bull, a son of the composer and violinist Ole Bull , bought the property in 1864, but sold it only two years later. Anton Mohr - a geographer and historian - bought Gamlehaugen in 1878 for agricultural purposes and made some modifications. After his death in 1890, his widow Alethe sold the house to master builders from Bergen on condition that they could continue to use it. In May 1898 the shipowner and politician Christian Michelsen bought the property. After Alethe Mohr's death, he had the entire property demolished and Gamlehaugen rebuilt with a one-year construction period from 1899 as it can still be seen today. After Michelsen's death in 1925, friends and colleagues called for a fundraising campaign so that the state of Norway could buy and maintain the property. Despite missing the target of one million Norwegian kroner , the state bought the house and maintained the property through donations until 1965. After that, Norway continued to pay for maintenance and upkeep. From 1998 to 1991 the castle was renovated for the first time in order to prepare it for the visit of the reigning royal couple, since then it has served the royal family as the official summer residence of the royal family. During his time at the Naval Academy in Bergen, Crown Prince Haakon lived on the property.
The park around the property is freely accessible to the public. The park is mainly used for recreation, for walks and swimming in the adjacent water. The state room and the ballroom are open during the summer months and can be visited with guided tours. You can also visit the former Prime Minister Christian Michelsen's office filled with collector's items.
architecture
Up until its demolition in 1898, Gamlehaugen was built in the Swiss house style . It is believed that this happened around 1812 under Marie Krohn. Christian Michelsen had the building rebuilt in the Scottish Barony style by the architect Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland . This combined stylistic means based on the model of a French castle from the 16th century with those of a Scottish fortress, based on the architecture of the tower houses . Even so, he still added modern aspects of his time. In the building itself, neither the French nor the Scottish style is taken up, but a classic Norwegian decor prevails, reminiscent of the wealth of Bergen during the Middle Ages and the Hanseatic League . Several different styles influenced the decoration of the rooms - Rococo , Neo-Renaissance , Dutch Baroque and Neo-Baroque . The property is surrounded by an English-style park , which is characterized by a variety of different types of plants.
Web links
Coordinates: 60 ° 20 ′ 33.2 ″ N , 5 ° 20 ′ 13 ″ E