During the Middle Ages, the Romanian ethnics in Transylvania, although they were the majority, did not enjoy suitable rights. At the end of the 19th century, in 1892, the main personalities of the Romanians from Transylvania wrote a memorandum addressed to the imperial court in Vienna. Through this memorandum, they requested fundamental rights for the Romanian community. A Romanian delegation tried, unsuccessfully, to obtain an audience with Emperor Franz Joseph in order to present their memorandum.
In 1894, the authorities filed a lawsuit against the memorandists, that took place in Cluj-Napoca, in the Reduta hall, which today is located in the building of the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania. By verdict, they were sentenced to prison and the activity of the Romanian National Party was banned. Following the diplomatic intervention of the King of Romania, Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the authorities exonerated the convicts.
The local authorities from Cluj-Napoca decided to honor the memory of those who represented the Romanian community of those times on the 100th anniversary of the trial by placing a monument. Built in 1994 on Eroilor Boulevard, near the historic headquarters of Cluj-Napoca City Hall, the monument is the work of sculptor Eugen Paul, with a height of about 18 meters and has engraved on the pedestal the words of the memorandists movement leader Dr. Ioan Ratiu: “The existence of a people is not discussed, but asserted!”.