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Fri Oct 10,10:43 AM ET |
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By Radu Marinas
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Vampire lovers with a thirst for a thrill could soon be Romania-bound after investors said on Thursday a Disneyland-style Dracula theme park was back on track.
Under pressure from UNESCO (news - web sites) and other activists, Romania changed its plans to build the horror tourist draw near the historic birthplace in Transylvania of Vlad the Impaler -- said to have been the inspiration for the fictional Dracula.
UNESCO, the culture arm of the United Nations (news - web sites), and others said building the park near Sighisoara would have ruined the 13th century town, a World Heritage Site.
"All I can say is that the Dracula project is going ahead. We're drafting a detailed plan, subject to shareholder approval by the end of this year," Sorin Marica, the chairman of the Dracula Park SA firm which oversees the project told Reuters.
The theme park will now be sited in the Snagov Lake area, north of the capital, and not in Transylvania, which is a region of Romania.
Consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers said Snagov, 17 km (11 miles) from Bucharest airport and 40 km (25 miles) from the center of the capital of 2.5 million people was the most appropriate site.
Marica said horror rides, labyrinths and catacombs were still part of the plan for the park, due to be built on 100 hectares (250 acres) of state land with private funds to try to lure more tourists to the poor ex-communist country.
"We also aim to create a separate area (in the park) to promote the historic truth for Vlad Tepes," Marica said.
The headless body of Vlad Tepes, the real life 15th century Wallachian hero prince who fought off Ottoman invaders and defended Christendom, is believed to be buried at a monastery in the middle of Snagov Lake.
Vlad is believed to have been born in Sighisoara around 1431 to Vlad Dracul or Dragon. The young Vlad was named Dracula -- meaning son of Dracul -- by his father. But in Romanian, the word also means the devil.
The government had trumpeted the plan saying it would draw about one million tourists annually by 2006 -- 20 percent from abroad but appeared to lose interest.
But government spokeswoman Despina Neagoe said on Thursday: "I don't have any information on the Dracula park project."
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