Irenenring
The Irenenring was a Protestant community for unmarried women based in Stuttgart . It was founded in 1948 in Lorch, Württemberg by Elisabeth Prager, Irmgard Stolt, Wilma Sommer and Irmela Hofmann . The community was named after the ring of Queen Irene of Swabia . Irene died in 1208 and was the last of the Staufer dynasty to be buried in Lorch Abbey.
The community was supported by the registered association Irenenring der Evangelischen Schwesternschaft e. V. The community had around 70 members in the 1960s who did not live in community but met regularly. In 2005 the community still had around 30 active sisters and was dissolved when Irene Kauffmann, the long-time director, left.
The sisters of the community chose an enamelled gold ring, which is designed and named after the piece of jewelry Irenes, as a sign of identification. The ring shows Mary , the mother of Jesus Christ , and the tools of the Passion : the cross and a ladder, the scourge rods, three dice with which the Roman soldiers rolled around the robe, a hammer and tongs and a drop of blood. Above it is the writing IHS, Iesus Hominum Salvator - Jesus, Savior of the People. The original ring was found during demolition work in Lorch Abbey in the 19th century and was lost again in the 20th century.