Romanian Dracula Park Plan 'Undead' - Minister
Jul 1, 2002 8:59 am ET
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania said on Monday it was going ahead with a Dracula theme park in Transylvania despite opposition from groups worried that its kitschy attractions will be out of keeping with the medieval surrounds.
Romanian Tourism Minister Dan Agathon denied media reports that the government, under pressure from groups concerned with preserving Romania's heritage, had abandoned plans to build the park on a hilltop near the medieval town of Sighisoara.
"Any rumors saying that we intend to move the location of Dracula park or give up the project are simple fabrications," Agathon told Reuters in an interview.
Sighisoara was the birthplace of the 15th century Romanian count Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler, thought to have inspired Irish author Bram Stoker's famous Gothic novel "Dracula."
Critics say the park, featuring a ghost castle with torture chambers, kitschy attractions and restaurants serving "scary meat jelly," would kill the medieval spirit of Sighisoara and damage a forest reserve that is home to ancient oaks.
Agathon said any decision on the park would be based solely on suggestions made by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers, whom the government has hired for a feasibility study on the project.
"We are paying the best consultants and we will strictly observe their advice. If they come up with alternatives for the (park's) location...we will listen to them," he said.
The study would be ready by mid-September. Under the deal PricewaterhouseCoopers would also make arrangements for funds worth $100 million for the project.
"Dracula badly needs that cash," said Agathon, whose other exotic projects include transforming Romania's Black sea coast into a tropical paradise by planting palm trees.
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