Bodenwerder

The charming Weser town of Bodenwerder plays a central role in German popular literature. It's the home of the Lügenbaron (Lying Baron) von Münchhausen (1720-97), who was known as a teller of whoppers. His reputation was not without foundation, but it was mainly created by a book based in part on the baron's stories and published anonymously by an acquaintance. According to one tale, the baron rode a cannonball toward an enemy fortress but then, having second thoughts, returned to where he started by leaping onto a cannonball heading the other way.