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The Romanian Orthodox Church welcomes the Government’s decision to cancel the “Dracula Park” project ( 08.04.2006 )

At the end of the last month the Romanian prime minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said that the Romanian Government had cancelled the contract with Dracula Inc., the company assigned to build at Snagov, a Bucharest suburb, the 460-hectare entertainment park named after the infamous count.

The Romanian Orthodox Church has welcomed the decision of the Romanian Government by which it definitely drops the idea to build this complex in the immediate surrounding of Bucharest. The project for the construction of the entertainment park that was to profit from the legendary vampire’s history had been obstructed and neglected for already five years, for finally to be dropped.

 

  

 

 

“Our church was against this project from the beginning - we regard the fact that it has now been dropped as something normal,” said Constantin Stoica, the church's spokesperson. "Although our Church wasn’t consulted, we made clear the Dracula myth had nothing to do with Romanian history, and this view was shared by many historians.”

As the reason for the cancellation, the Romanian Government states the “irregularities in the contract and delays” that arose in the course of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    

 

 

According to the legend, Vlad Tepes, the duke of Wallachia in the 15 century was buried in Snagov. He is famous for his atrocities against his enemies and the rebellious nobility while defending his country. It is widely assumed that at the end of the 19 century he had inspired the Irish writer Bram Stoker to create the character of the blood-drinking count Dracula.

“Dracula’s Park” was to attract up to a million tourists per year and open three thousand jobs. The original idea had been to build the complex in Transylvania, not far from the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, but “pressed by the people”, the Government decided to change the location.

 

 

                    

 

Source: www.pravoslavie.ru/ www.patriarhia.ru