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.

When Michelsen died in 1925, his closest friends and colleagues started a national fund-raising campaign that brought in enough money to allow the Norwegian state to purchase the property.

[4] The architect was Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland, who would later design the Bergen Railway Station and the brick buildings at Bryggen.

[2] Following Michelsen's death in 1925, his closest friends and colleagues initiated a national fund-raising campaign which sought to collect the money needed for the state to purchase Gamlehaugen, as well as create a fund to pay for the costs of operation and maintenance.

[5] Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway resided at the mansion while he attended the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in the 1990s.

Michelsen gave the task of converting it into a large park to gardener Olav Moen, who later became a professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

Moen wanted a park dominated by evergreen plants and trees, however Michelsen's wish for a fruit garden won out in the end.

It was originally located near the caretaker's house, which had to be demolished in 1986 when the rock it was built on was blasted away to make room for the widening of the main road.