The 'Transylvania' Economic College in Targu Mures hosts an unusual space for an educational institution: a library arranged inside a space that was initially intended as an Orthodox chapel, complete with murals on the walls and ceiling and a visible altar. The result is a reading room where spirituality and school culture meet in an unexpected way.

College director Gheorghita Adrian Rucoi told AGERPRES that the hall was originally intended as a neighborhood church and later as a religion office, built as an annex around 2009.

'From hearsay I know that, in the first phase, they wanted this to be a neighborhood church. Eventually, the idea was abandoned and, for I don't know how many years now, it has remained as a religion office and a library at the same time. (...) I first stepped here in 2012, when I was the deputy director of the school for a year, so I knew about the building, it wasn't such a big surprise for me,' Rucoi said.

Although smaller than the school's main library, the room now serves as a multifunctional space for reading, cultural activities and religion classes.

'Now it's a smaller library, but it's also a room where we organize a series of activities. (...) We have 836 students, and here we also hold religion classes, activities on various topics, and no one is taken by surprise, because now everyone knows that there is a chapel at the Economic High School. Those who come from outside ask us what it is: a library, a church, a chapel? I think it's all in one place,' the director added.

The students confirm the impression the room leaves on first-time visitors.

Bianca, an 11th grader, says she was taken aback but charmed: 'I don't know how I reacted, but it seemed like a shock to me, if I sit and think about it, that I come to high school and see on the ceiling, on the walls, everywhere, something that you usually find in a church. (...) I think it's a creative idea to have a library here with such a decoration. It's very creative.'

Her classmate Irina recalls a similar surprise: 'We were at the beginning of the 9th grade and I remember that we came to get our textbooks, and we were all very amazed that we had something like this in high school. Everyone wondered if religious services were held here. (...) It's a room that you don't find everywhere, it's more special.'

Other students say the icons and sacred imagery give the space a solemn atmosphere that encourages respect among both teachers and pupils. For many, the combination is unique: a secular school that preserves authentic religious elements - a meeting point between the spiritual and the material.

Teachers describe the room as 'a point of attraction' for the high school and note that, although a few schools in the city have decorated religion rooms, such arrangements remain rare. In an era of increasingly standardized school spaces, they say, this chapel-library stands out as a creative adaptation that invites reading, contemplation and conversation.

Students agree, seeing the room more as a beautiful curiosity than a place intended exclusively for worship.

Economic education in Targu Mures dates back to 1907. The Economic High School itself was founded in 1966, training accountants, commodity analysts and sales staff. In 1995 it became the Economic School Group of Tourist and Hotel Services, adding new profiles aligned with the market economy. The institution adopted its current name - the 'Transylvania' Economic College - in the 2002-2003 school year. The main building was consolidated and modernized in 2007-2008 through a World Bank project co-financed by the Romanian Government and the Ministry of Education, becoming a modern and fully functional facility. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Dorina Matis; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)