Dracula theme park to go ahead

Prince Vlad

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Romania is to press ahead with plans to build a Dracula theme park but has postponed a decision on its location.

Environmental action group Greenpeace and Britain's Prince Charles protested against the preferred location in the town of Sighisoara saying it threatened the environment and a medieval citadel.

Following the protests, the government hired international auditors to carry out a feasibility study of the project.

Tourism Ministry spokesman Adrian Tone told The Associated Press: "We are waiting for the results of the study (available) in September, then we will make a decision on where to build it."

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The government chose Sighisoara because it is the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, a warring 15th century prince who was the basis for Bram Stoker's fictional character Dracula.

Many Romanians consider Prince Vlad -- who impaled captured Turks and other enemies on stakes for slow death -- as a national hero for his heroic battles against the Ottoman Empire and his intolerance of corruption.

But Vlad only gained world fame after Stoker published Dracula in 1897, changing the image of the Romanian nobleman from warrior prince to the bloodsucking count that inspired dozens of plays and movies.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has also expressed concern that the large numbers of tourists and cars expected at the amusement park would threaten the nearby Sighisoara citadel, a UNESCO heritage site.

The government hopes the park will attract large numbers of foreign tourists and revitalise a community suffering from mass layoffs as unprofitable state industries close.