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Arsenal Park Orastie

Arsenal Park is located on the outskirts of Orastie, in Hunedoara county, in western Romanian, at equal distance from the Dacian fortresses from Orastie Mountains: Blidaru, Costesti, and Sarmisegetuza Regia.

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 14.11.2013, 14:08

In medieval times, Orastie Fortress survived the Mongol invasion, Ottoman sieges, the plague of 1783, and numerous medieval battles. Today, almost 90 hectares of forest await you for a unique experience: barracks life adapted for tourists. Petre Racovita, director of Arsenal Park, told us why it is worth going there:

Petre Racovita: “Arsenal Park is the only place in Romania with a military theme. In addition, Arsenal Park is also a museum of military technology, the largest in Romania. Our facilities make it a very attractive place for visitors. As a military museum, you can see there a very wide range of exhibits, from heavy combat vehicles, to tanks, rocket launchers, anti-air artillery, anti-tank artillery, cannons of all kinds, machine guns, and a wide range of military transport vehicles. In addition, everywhere, in rooms, in the restaurant, in the headquarters, we have all sorts of military objects, used by the army along the years. Accommodation is special as well, it is in line with the general idea of Arsenal Park. We have general villas, the highest level of comfort, we have colonel apartments, we have officer rooms, the equivalent of a usual hotel room, and we also have soldier rooms. Soldier rooms are also special, you can, for instance, sleep in a light armored vehicle or on a cannon, as well as in military barracks, with bunk beds, with a specific barracks atmosphere.”

Speaking of spending the holidays, the organizers provide special entertainment in the form of boot camp. It isn’t actual boot camp, but the guests still have to comply with military discipline and get used to some athletic exercise. All of them are meant to make people feel great. There is a short march, then an obstacle course. All the training is timed. There are also competitions between teams and platoons. Platoons have commanders who are responsible for them, and get punished on their behalf. Among the more challenging activities during training are jogging in pairs, jogging in a car tire pulled by a competitor, or jogging handcuffed to a comrade or with a gas mask on.

Petre Racovita, director of the complex, told us about the activities in the park:

Petre Racovita: “I believe that right now we are the location with the largest variety of activities, from military ones — as we are the only place in Romania which offers entertainment military training- to rides in military cars, paintball and air-soft gun battles, shooting real military weapons, shooting bows, and even crossbows. On top of this we have sports games, in sports yards, with night lighting, and we also have a minigolf court. Our customers can relax in the club, where we have pool tables, table tennis, chess, backgammon, poker, darts, air hockey, a very wide range of activities. For a year now we’ve had a modern spa center, because soldiers need to relax; we have a heated indoor pool, with the whole range of sauna, showers, relaxation rooms, massage cabinets, the whole range of wellness and fitness.”

The newest activity introduced at Arsenal Park are the enduro races, that involve motorcycling over very difficult terrain, on specific routes, in the Orastie Mountains. Tour guides can help tourists choose the proper routes, depending on their skill at handling a motorcycle.

If you have never been in the army, you have an opportunity to familiarize yourself with military terminology, and if you have been there, then you have the opportunity to remember it in a relaxing atmosphere. The reception is called the headquarters, the restaurant is called the mess hall, and the training gets adapted to your personal taste, if you are the adventurous type.