Gamlehaugen - royal residence

For a week now the weather has been stellar, cold and snowy, with beautiful sunsets. Tomorrow the usual heavy Bergen rain will be back but at least we had one week of winter wonder.

The other day I went to Gamlehaugen, Bergen’s very own chateau. For those of you staying in Bergen for more than a day Gamlehaugen is a nice place to visit, especially if you are into photography. Gamlehaugen (“Old Hill” in English) looks pretty in every season, but in winter it looks extra stunning as it looks like a fairytale castle. In summer people visit the area to go swimming in the lake.

The Bergen architecture in general is quite…ecclectic to say the least. We have a mixture of all styles thanks to all the city fires, from Medieval stone buildings to wooden houses to horrid 70’s buildings to modern architecture. But this castle stands out.

I have been lurking in the large garden for years, in winter, spring, summer and fall, trying to get good shots.

Prime minister Christian Michelsen built the chateau in 1901 because he wanted a spacious place to live outside the city. Nowadays the highway is just next to it, but back in the day it was a tranquil area.

In 1901 Norway was about to be completely sovereign, but they needed to break loose from the union with Sweden first. They had a referendum and almost everyone voted in favor of independence. This could have ended with war, but thanks to Michelsen’s diplomatic skills the dissolution of the union with Sweden happened peacefully in 1905.

Norway has a long tradition of unions with both Denmark and Sweden, and has always been the underdog, but I won’t be writing about that now.

The building is now the royal residence for the king and the queen whenever they visit Bergen.

They also have guided tours inside the chateau in the summer season.