Ancient spires and towers soar above the steep roofs of the dreamy medieval town. Perched on a hilltop, the castle of Sighisoara is a monument to gothic architecture, but like many other sites in Romania, it is crumbling from neglect.

For centuries, the town has slumbered in the heart of Transylvania, a region most outsiders would associate with bats and vampires. Now, the Romanian government, searching for new sources of revenue, has decided to capitalize on the region's most infamous son: Officials hope to draw a million tourists a year to a Dracula Land theme park.

The project is proving controversial, however, and pits a need for economic renewal against fears that the town's image will be blemished. Critics, most notably a Lutheran pastor, are questioning the soundness of the project, as well as its theme.

Links between the town and Dracula—whether the historical or fictional character—are tenuous. For some residents, however, historical accuracy pales beside the need to create jobs in the area and restore Sighisoara's landmark. "The castle is dying. If nothing is done, in 50 years it will look like the Acropolis," says Olimpiu Langa, a local entrepreneur and booster of the Dracula Land project. "Nobody has any money. You can't just stand there with folded arms and watch how the walls crumble."

Langa boasts that the theme park, projected to open in two years, will generate 3,000 new jobs in the community of 38,000. The project has an estimated price tag of some U.S. $35 million, which the Romanian government hopes to raise from European investors. In developing the concept, planners are consulting with the operators of a Wild West theme park in southern Germany.

The blueprints for Dracula Land are still on the drawing boards. Langa says plans include using a hill next to the castle to build a sort of parallel town with up to 800 beds for guests, including [a] castle-style structure offering two dozen rooms. While planners are close-mouthed about the attractions, they would include medieval guilds demonstrating their trades.

International Dracula Center and Archive

Langa stresses that Dracula Land is part of a larger tourism project, which includes renovation of the old castle, infrastructure improvements, and construction of a golf course and a hotel school. There is talk of opening an "International Dracula Center" with an archive of everything written on the legendary figure.

Sighisoara's actual connection to Dracula, as the medieval Romanian count Vlad Tepes was called, is rather thin, however.

Tepes, a bloodthirsty ruler known for impaling his enemies, is said to have been born in Sighisoara in 1431, and a house in town, now a restaurant, bears a plaque claiming the house as his birthplace.

Local historian Ioan Fedor Pascu is skeptical, however: "We don't have any documents to prove that he was born here." Pascu quickly adds that he sees nothing inherently wrong with commercializing the historical figure, who in the popular imagination has since morphed into the villain of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel. Yet Pascu worries that the end product runs the risk of becoming kitsch.

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