Ravenstone Abbey is the Iron Range’s newest castle. Maybe the only castle.

Sue and Jozsef Palavics have been working on renovating the old Coleraine church for years. Sue had always dreamed of living in a stone house and was even more inspired after a visit to her husband’s home country.

“We had toured a castle in Hungary called Holloko, which means Raven Stone,” Sue said.

They didn’t know the building was there until they happened to drive by one day.

“We were on our way to visit our son and were taking a shortcut, saw the building, stopped the car, backed up, got out, walked around,” Sue said. “And we said, let’s try to find the owners and see what we can do.”

Jozsef wasn’t immediately sold.

“Honestly, when we came in, I turned back. Because it was knee-deep water here,” he said. “And really, it was horrible.”

Sue didn’t know exactly what the building would become, but she had the vision. And Jozsef had always had a penchant for throwing things with blades.

“In my childhood in Hungary, I always throw any sharp objects, like any boys I think,” he said. “So the knife and axe was my favorite.”

Because Ravenstone Abbey is on the National Register of Historic Places, the Palavics couldn’t change the layout. It shaped up to have a coffee shop and bistro, pub, and axe-throwing lanes.

Sue was in charge of the decor, which includes several years’ worth of thrifting and authentic pieces.

They celebrated the grand opening at the end of September with re-enactments of sword-fighting, a gypsy selling love potions, and a strolling minstrel.

“Our goal was to create an experience,” Sue said. “We wanted to make this building something unique that people would come in and feel like they have stepped back into Old World England or Europe.”

Jozsef sees more growth ahead, including an event space on the upper floor. He says the grand opening was not the finish line.

“No, no,” he said. “It was the beginning.”

Axe throwing reservations can be made online.