The monument in Slatina is the first in the country, raised in memory of Ecaterina Teodoroiu, for its achievement being constituted in 1920, a committee of initiative under the patronage of Queen Mary whose presence at the inauguration in 1925 was considered by the Mayor of Slatina, from that time, I.A. Tomescu “the most important act o fthe life of this city.”
Ecaterina Teodoroiu’s monument is the creation of the sculptor Dimitrie Mățăuanu (1899 – 1929) and its construction began in 1921. The monument in Slatina of the heroine Ecaterina Teodoroiu is a statue made of bronze, natural size in a dynamic attitude, with the weapon in equipoise and a soldierly helmet in her right hand. The statue is placed on a concrete pedestal in three steps performed in Baroque style, with the corners in the shape of sticked columns. The western façade of the pedestal is adorned at the bottom with a flag, oak leaves and a military helmet framed by laurel leaves, all casted in bronze. On the pedestal also appear the emblems of the Romanian historical provinces, and on the others facades are chiseled in marble the names of the heroes of the 43 Infantry Regiment .Ecaterina Teodoroiu (born Catalina Vasile Toderoiu in January 14, 1894 – deceased on 22 August 1917) was a Girl Scout and attended the First World War, where he died at the end of the battle from Mărăşeşti leading an infantry platoon of the Romanian Army. Coming from a humble family in Oltenia, Ecaterina went to Bucharest to become a teacher, and there she helped in setting up the first scout organizations in her country. After Romania entered World War I, she worked as a nurse on the front in her native region. Wishing to avenge all her four brothers who died in battle Ecaterina asked to be transferred to a unit of combatants. She was taken prisoner, escaped and was wounded twice. In the hospital, was decorated by the royal house and promoted to lieutenant. From this posture she participated in the Battle of Mărăşeşti, where she died leading an infantry platoon.
Celebrated as a national heroine, after the war ended, her image was first marginalized and then distorted by the communist regime and after this regime downfall, the return of her real image in the popular consciousness was delayed.