Kryal Castle
Kryal Castle is an Australian replica medieval castle located on a foothill of Mount Warrenheip at Leigh Creek, just north of Dunnstown and 8 km east of Ballarat. It was built in 1972[1] and opened to the public in 1974[2] by Keith Ryall, who gave the castle his namesake, having made his fortune selling body armour.[3]
The castle has many features including a moat, drawbridge, maze, castle towers, stocks [4] medical museum, armoury.[5] It also features shows such as jousting, public whipping, a jester juggler, fire eating and a "Wax Of Torture" museum.[6] It also has accommodation and performs weddings.
The property was listed for sale with an asking price of $10 million in 2007 but failed to sell. In January 2011, it was sold after having been on the market for several years. There was interest from some parties in turning it into a medieval-style brothel. However, it was bought by Jay Finch and Wendy Alexander who intend to continue keeping it as a hotel and theme park.[7] In August 2011 ownership of the property was returned to Keith Ryall after the Finch family were unable to complete payment for the property. There are plans to re-advertise the property on the local and international markets.[8]
In January 2012, Kryal Castle was acquired by Castle Tourism & Entertainment Pty Ltd. The Castle is currently closed for major renovation and upgrade works. It will be developed into a multi-use venue, offering day time and night time tourism and entertainment experiences 12 months of the year. Castle Suites offering a 4 star accommodation experience, along with unique and updated function, wedding and conferencing facilities will open in early 2013. Medieval Adventure, Fantasy and Theme Park concepts are currently under construction. The medieval sport of jousting will be reintroduced along with special effects, sound and light attractions.
[edit] References
- ^ "Kryal Castle". Sbdunnstown.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "Kryal Castle goes up for sale - Local News - News - General". The Courier. 2007-04-14. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ http://www.visitvictoria.com/displayobject.cfm/objectid.F92D58F0-C566-4767-97098207CA95D764/
- ^ "Kryal Castle Ballarat — Michael Gorey". Gorey.com.au. 2008-12-21. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "Kryal Castle". Ballarat.com. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "Crazy Domains". Kryalcastle.com.au. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ Burin, Margaret (2011-02-24). "New king and queen move into Kryal Castle - ABC Ballarat - Australian Broadcasting Corporation". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "Victorian Tourism Icon Kryal Castle For Sale Again". Theage.domain.com.au. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 37°34′19″S 143°57′23″E / 37.57194°S 143.95639°E
