Follow Strada Porta Schei south and pass through the Schei Gate (1828), an archway leading to Brasov's oldest area, the neighborhood where the subservient Romanian community was sequestered during the racist rule of the Saxons. The neighborhood retains much of its historical character, defined by narrow streets and unimposing buildings; one of the loveliest is the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Piata Unirii (Mon-Sat 8am-6pm, Sun 9am-6pm), an eclectic merging of Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque elements. Established by the voivodes (landowners) of Wallachia, this is Transylvania's first Orthodox church, built 1493 to 1564 on the site of an earlier wooden building; it's lavishly adorned with frescoes and rugs. Near the church, behind the statue of an intellectual-looking man holding a scroll, is the First Romanian School Museum (Muzeul Prima Scuala Româneasca, Piata Unirii 1-2 (tel. 0268/44-3879; daily 9am-5pm; 1.10€/$1.65), where the first Romanian Bible is kept, along with the first Romanian letter written using the Latin alphabet, and the country's first press, used in this building when it was a printing house. From the square, head farther along Strada Prof. Vasile Saftu until you get to lovely Church of the Holy Trinity (Biserica Sfânta Treime), well off the beaten track, but memorable for its early-morning Mass (7:30am), attended by a congregation of retired locals; the interior is fantastically frescoed, and there's a small museum. The cemetery is where the city's Romanian serfs are buried. Schei also shelters the country's original Romanian lyceum on Strada Prundului, which hosted the first vernacular opera in 1882.