The Kentucky Castle, also known as Castle Post, Martin Castle and Versailles Castle, is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, located in
Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...
, near
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
, 201 Pisgah Pike near the
Woodford County line, part of a estate.
[ It is visually situated off Lexington (Versailles) road. The Kentucky Castle overlooks the Elkhorn Creek watershed on the ]Woodford Woodford may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Woodford, New South Wales
*Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region
*Woodford, Victoria
Canada
* Woodford, Ontario
England
*Woodford, Cornwall
* Woodford, Gloucestershire
*Woodford, Greate ...
/ Fayette county line
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
. Construction began in 1969 by its original owners, and has since changed hands undergoing a major renovation in 2004.[ Today it operates as a bed and breakfast and special functions facility.][ As of 2017, new owners have focused on revitalization and remodels of the castle. The castle hosts special events, weddings, and has an operational farm-to-table restaurant inside.
]
History
Construction on the castle was started by real estate developer Rex Martin and his wife Caroline Bogaert Martin in 1969, after they had returned from a trip to Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and were inspired by the architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
and many famous buildings they had seen in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.tennis court
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...
. In 1975, the Martins divorced and left the castle unfinished. Over the years, it became a popular oddity and roadside photo-op for tourists. Rex Martin listed it for sale in 1988, but died in 2003 without selling it. In 2003 the so-called "Martin Castle" was sold for 1.8 million dollars to Thomas R. Post, a lawyer from Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
who graduated from University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...
, and the name was changed to "The Castle Post". It had been for sale for many years at a price rumored to be more than 3 million dollars, and there had been talks that it would be turned into a medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
-themed restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
or a museum.
On May 10, 2004, after months of renovations, an ugly mishap caused newly installed woodwork and wiring to catch fire in the main building. Post, who was at his home in Miami at the time, had already spent months renovating it but vowed to rebuild. Approximately twice the castle's original cost went towards the reconstruction project.
Reconstruction was completed in Fall 2008. New additions include twelve luxury suites, a library, game room, music room, dining hall, ball room, swimming pool, formal garden, basketball court, bar, and tennis court. It is used as a tourist inn, fund raisers, weddings, special events, and corporate functions. It has sixteen bedrooms, four of which are in the outside turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* Mi ...
s.
In November 2010, the property was listed for sale at $30,000,000.[ Post said he would continue to operate it as an inn while it was listed.][Kentucky castle is up for sale]
''USA Today'', November 9, 2010 It was sold in 2017.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official site
*http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2010-04-14-kentucky-castle-hotel_N.htm
*http://www.zillow.com/blog/versailles-castle-for-sale-in-kentucky-not-france-38311/
www.tripadvisor.comwww.kentuckybb.comsouthfloridalawyers.blogspot.comwww.kentucky.com
Hotels in Kentucky
Castles in the United States
Buildings and structures in Woodford County, Kentucky