Evenings of Baron Munchausen

In German literature of the 18th century, there is hardly a work, so widely known to the reader as "The amazing trips of Baron Munchausen." The famous inventor, brave man and traveler who flew on the nucleus and met a miracle olive with a cherry tree between horns, had a real prototype. Karl Friedrich Jerome von Munchausen (1720–1797) belonged to the ancient family, the founder of which was once accompanied by Friedrich Barbarossa in one of the Crusades. The Baron himself spent many years in Russia, where he successfully advanced in military service and even took part in the Russo-Turkish war. Having seen a lot and returning to his homeland, he began to talk about his implausible adventures in the “Land of the White Bears”, for which he received the nickname “King of the Falsens.”

The literary history of the Baron Munchausen began in 1781, when on the pages of Berlin The magazine “Guide to Funny People” appeared stories of an anonymous author, allegedly told by the Localian traveler himself. These publications interested the German writer Rudolph Erich Razpe (1737–1794), who turned them into an integral, finished work and published in English in 1785. Later, the work of the spread was continued by Gottfried Augustus Burger (1747–1794). Having completed the translation by processing and complementing the narrative, he created his own version of the adventure of the baron.

The present edition presents both of these brilliant works, giving the reader a new meeting with the great dreamer and traveler.