He tied his horse to a church spire, rode a cannonball, pulled himself out of the swamp by his hair and even traveled to the moon. The anecdotes may not be true, but the "Liar Baron" really existed.
by Irene Altenmüller
The adventures of the famous Baron von Munchausen are still world famous today. What is less known is that the legendary "Lying Baron" is not a literary invention, but a historical personality. 300 years ago, on May 11, 1720, Hieronymus Carl Freiherr von Münchhausen was born in the small town of Bodenwerder in the Weser Uplands. But how did the little landed gentry become the world-famous "Lying Baron"?
Münchhausen in the service of Anton Ulrich
Only a few details from Munchausen's life are historically documented. Hieronymus grew up on his parents' estate with his mother and seven siblings. His father dies when he is four years old. The boy left Bodenwerder at the age of 13 and served first as a page at Bevern Castle and later at the Braunschweig court in Wolfenbüttel. In December 1737, Hieronymus followed his employer, Prince Anton Ulrich, to St. Petersburg because the prince had married a niece of the Russian Tsarina. This journey through wintry Russia appears as a motif in some of Munchausen's best-known stories, such as that of the horse at the top of a church spire.
Ride the Cannonball:Munchausen and the War
The legendary cannonball ride takes place during the Russo-Turkish War - here is a historical illustration by Gustave Doré.As part of the Russian Brunswick Regiment, Münchhausen probably fought a little later alongside Anton Ulrich in the Russo-Turkish War. This war and in particular the siege of the Ochakov fortress on the Black Sea form the historical background for Munchausen's legendary cannonball ride:in order to spy on a Turkish fortress, the baron flies on a cannonball towards the enemy without further ado, but changes his mind while he is still flying. So he switches mid-air to a Turkish ball, which brings him back into his own ranks.
Munchausen's time in Russia and Riga
In 1741, Anton Ulrich, whose young son had already been appointed the new tsar, was deposed by the new empress and taken prisoner together with his wife Anna Leopoldovna - this was a heavy blow for Münchhausen, as it ended his promising career. Anton Ulrich is in prison with his family in Riga. Münchhausen stayed mainly in the Baltic States until 1750.
The Baron becomes a popular narrator
Münchhausen is said to have entertained his guests with anecdotes over red punch and a tobacco pipe.Münchhausen was probably telling his friends entertaining anecdotes about adventures in the war or on the hunt during this time. Münchhausen also met his future wife Jacobine in the Baltic States, whom he married in 1744.
Together they return to Bodenwerder in 1750. From then on, Münchhausen lived the typical life of a landed gentry, whiled away the time hunting and inviting guests over. In good company, with punch and a tobacco pipe, he entertains acquaintances and hunting companions with his stories. In 1763 he had a pavilion built especially for the social evenings. This "Munchausen Grotto" can still be seen in Bodenwerder today.
Munchausen's stories are published
Münchhausen probably never wanted his anecdotes to be written down and published. And yet an unknown listener was inspired by the stories and published them in 1781 in the "Vademecum for Funny People". It says in the beginning:"There lives a very funny head, Mr. von M-h-s-n in H-schen, who has come up with his own kind of meaningful stories. They are stories full of the most unbelievable exaggerations, but so funny and moody that one, without oneself to grieve the possibility of having to laugh with all my heart."
Gottfried August Bürger publishes stories
This first collection of stories is followed in 1785 by a series of adventure stories and lies - this time without obscuring Munchausen's name. The writer and scholar Rudolf Erich Raspe published them in England - he had to flee there because he had stolen valuable coins from a collection entrusted to him.
Gottfried August Bürger published the Munchausen stories in German, which have shaped our image of the "lying baron" to this day.The stories are well received and soon Raspe is adding sea adventures that have nothing to do with the life of the real Munchausen.
Under the title "Wonderful Journeys of Baron von Münchhausen" they also appear in German in 1786, translated and supplemented by further stories by the poet Gottfried August Bürger from Göttingen.
Münchhausen feels mocked
Munchausen is now famous as a brilliant storyteller. No reason for joy for the landed gentry, on the contrary. The baron is deeply offended, sees himself mocked and laughed at by everyone. He is considering suing authors and publishers, feeling "prostituted before the whole world by their malice." He then became more and more suspicious and taciturn, according to his descendant Albert Friedrich in a family history.
Growing bitterness in old age
But not only the anger about his ruined reputation spoiled Münchhausen the last years of his life. In 1790 his wife Jacobine died. Münchhausen remains lonely, the marriage remained childless. To escape loneliness, the 74-year-old baron remarries, his bride is 20-year-old Bernhardine von Brünn. After just a few months, the marriage with the much younger woman broke down, and Münchhausen filed for divorce.
Münchhausen becomes the "Lying Baron"
Münchhausen loses large parts of his fortune in the years-long divorce process. In court he was accused of "exaggerated imagination" and "active imagination". The allegations of this "lying baron" are just as fictitious as his famous stories. Lonely, embittered and branded with the abusive title "Lying Baron", Münchhausen died on February 22, 1797 before the trial was completed. He is buried in the monastery church of St. Marien Kemnade in Bodenwerder.
Where Bodenwerder is still reminiscent of Münchhausen
Münchhausen's estate in Bodenwerder has survived to this day. The town hall is located in the house where he was born, and a Münchhausen museum is housed in what is known as the Schulenburg, the oldest building on the estate. The "Lying Baron" is perhaps the most important advertising figure in the city and region. A special postage stamp and a commemorative coin will be issued for his 300th birthday. A ceremony and numerous other events for the anniversary have been postponed due to the Corona crisis.