You'd have to be a widely known and beloved figure to get an expensive permanent public installation like that. And it doesn't even show the Baron. Yet people know exactly what to do with it. So his cannon ball scene must be a big cultural icon on its own. Where and when was it popularized?
It's still a popular book, specially as a children's book, in some countries (e.g. Russia). The cannon scene is the most often used in the covers. I now want to read it, but I'll wait an year when hopefully my German will be good enough.
From his
Wikipedia page:
Versions of the fictional Baron have appeared on stage, screen, radio, and television, as well as in other literary works. Though the Baron Munchausen stories are no longer well-known in many English-speaking countries, they are still popular in continental Europe. The character has inspired numerous memorials and museums, and several medical conditions and other concepts are named after him, including Munchausen syndrome, the Münchhausen trilemma, and Munchausen numbers.
The only Munchausen number in base 10 is 3435 = 3
3+4
4+3
3+5
5These numbers were named after another of the Baron's famous feats: bootstrapping himself (and his horse) out of trouble by pulling up his own hair
Apparently, the third thing he is famous for is riding a horse cut in half.
Postal stamp from Liechtenstein:
