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 and opened to the public in 1974 by Keith Ryall, who gave the castle his namesake, having made his fortune selling body armour.
The castle has many features including a moat, drawbridge, maze, castle towers, stocks medical museum, armoury. It also features shows such as jousting, public whipping, a jester juggler, fire eating and a "Wax Of Torture" museum. 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. In August 2011 ownership of the property was returned to Keith Ryall after the Finch family were unable to complete payment for the property.
In January 2012, Kryal Castle was acquired by Castle Tourism & Entertainment Pty Ltd. The Castle closed for major renovation and upgrade works. It has been developed into a multi-use venue, offering day time and night time tourism and entertainment experiences 12 months of the year. Castle Suites with 4 star accommodation, function, wedding and conferencing facilities reopened in 2013. Medieval Adventure, Fantasy and Theme Park concepts have been developed. The medieval sport of jousting has been reintroduced along with special effects, sound and light attractions.
