Under pressure from UNESCO (news
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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
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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."