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35:, a prominent German actor, dramatist and theatre director of the late 18th and early 19th century. The holder, or bearer, of the Iffland-Ring is considered to be the "most significant and most worthy actor of the German-speaking theatre", in the opinion of the previous holder who has passed it to him by
242:
Certain discrepancies in the wording of a note, found in the case in which the ring was kept, point in this direction, but they can also be quite easily explained otherwise. In particular, the date Haase gives for his receipt of the ring from Döring's widow, 1875, appears wrong as Döring died in 1878.
50:
but by a committee of German-speaking actors. Three times
Bassermann had chosen a successor, and on each occasion the actor chosen had died shortly thereafter. Bassermann considered the ring cursed, and declined to choose a fourth successor. Since his death, the Iffland-Ring has been earmarked as the
101:
The origins of the
Iffland-Ring are shrouded in some mystery, and the current ring is said to have been the most precious of a set of seven, of which only two appear to have survived: the Iffland-Ring itself and a less valuable similar ring which in the 1950s was in the private possession of Wilhelm
314:
In
October 1954, after an extraordinary meeting of the actors' guild, the ring was awarded to Werner Krauss and this time he accepted. Despite protests, especially from the Swiss actors' guild and the fact that the ring was now in private possession of Egon Hilbert, Krauss eventually received the
245:
He left the ring to Albert
Bassermann upon his death in 1911. Together with the ring, Haase left a note for Bassermann, dated Berlin, Christmas 1908, in which he declares his regret at their not having known each other much better. He also gives the history of the ring, and that letter became the
241:
Neither Haase nor Döring were ever actually seen with the ring, despite both being known to have been rather vain, and one theory concerning the ring's origins has it that Haase himself had the ring made and invented its history. The now-known history of the ring in any case begins with Haase.
349:
Meinrad's original choice of successor is not known, but in 1984, he changed his will. Upon his death in 1996, rumors were rife as to which
Austrian actor would receive the ring. To the disappointment of many actors at the Burgtheater, the ring was awarded to
284:, saved the ring by taking it off the coffin, declaring that it belonged to a living actor, not a dead one. Bassermann considered the ring cursed after all three actors died shortly after he named them as his successors.
299:, director of the Austrian theatre administration, had two meetings with the actor. Bassermann refused to take the ring back and, at the second meeting, declared that Hilbert could do with the ring as he pleased.
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Should no successor have been appointed or the documents regarding succession be lost, the federal
Austrian theatre administration will form a committee to decide on a successor.
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and is claimed to have commissioned the ring, to be carried by the leading German-speaking actor of his time. If so, Iffland's inspiration was most likely the play
322:
Krauss received the ring on 28 November 1954 and handed a sealed envelope to the
Austrian theatre administration on 12 December, stating his choice of succession.
274:
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Note: until 1871, Germany did not exist as a country but instead was subdivided into a number of countries; citizenship before 1871 is shown as applicable.
150:, whose death in 1822 he never got over, was one of the most gifted actors Germany ever produced, but also a drunkard. He collapsed while performing
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Albert
Bassermann was considered to be the bearer of the ring until his death in 1952 but did not have the ring in his possession after 1935.
337:, but was prevented from doing so by the fact that the ring could only be passed to a male. A female equivalent of the Iffland-Ring, the
62:
story is that it was indeed worn by
Iffland, but its established history only begins a century later with its supposed fifth holder,
1015:
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The ring is the property of the
Republic of Austria, but its future holder is determined by personal decision of the current holder.
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By tradition, the ring is only passed from one male actor to another. Since 1977, it has had a counterpart for female actors in the
1152:
269:, Bassermann placed the ring on top of Moissi's coffin, to cremate the ring alongside his last choice. The director of the
867:
Stemmler, Gunter Der Ehrenring – eine junge Auszeichnung, in: Herold-Jahrbuch, n.s. 16, 2011, pp. 231–258, see pp. 235–6.
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333:, his original choice in 1954. However, his widow later declared that Krauss would have liked to leave the ring to
254:
Bassermann never wore the ring himself and named three successors during his lifetime, all of whom he survived.
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88:. She had been considered as a successor for the Iffland-Ring by Krauß, who held it from 1954 to 1959.
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The next holder of the Iffland-Ring was Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, who died 16 February 2019, aged 77.
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The holder of the ring has to determine a successor within three months of receiving the ring.
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Much of the history of the ring during this period remains lost. Emil Devrient, and after him
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and died on 29 December 1832. His choice as his successor to the ring fell on his nephew
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In 1954, three basic laws were enacted concerning the possession of the ring:
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Bruno Ganz hatte Voss zum nächsten Träger des Iffland-Rings bestimmt
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to take the ring after Bassermann died in 1952 but Krauss refused.
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The circumstances of where and when Iffland passed on the ring to
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Iffland, a leading actor in his time in Germany, was inspired by
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Der Iffland-Ring – Legende und Geschichte eines Künstleridols
218:, where he had considerable success. His career took him to
238:, and he became one of the most successful German actors.
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The origins of the ring are shrouded in some mystery. The
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Like Ludwig Devrient, Krauss collapsed while performing
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onwards, the history of the ring is much better known.
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After this incident, Bassermann gave the ring to the
385:, having been named by Bruno Ganz as his successor.
172:, were gifted but not outstanding actors in Berlin.
139:. Shortly after, in September 1814, Iffland died in
246:prime source for future research into its history.
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840:
825:published: 26 May 1952, accessed: 10 February 2009
55:, although the holder retains it until his death.
329:and died on 20 October 1959, passing the ring to
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933:, "Brief Friedrich Haases an Albert Bassermann".
373:, who died 13 July 2014 from leukemia, aged 72.
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381:The current holder of the ring is German actor
102:Burckhardsberg, but that may now also be lost.
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42:One exception to this rule came in 1954, when
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341:, was created upon Seidler's death in 1977.
187:Haase was born in Berlin, as the son of the
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46:was not determined by the previous holder
1127:Short abstract on the history of the ring
981:, "Die Ruhe des Ringes aber war gestört".
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203:, something Haase used to his advantage.
369:Ganz's original choice of successor was
265:and upon the death of his third choice,
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1034:"Jens Harzer bekommt den Iffland-Ring"
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837:, "Wohin kamen nun die Ringe?".
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1039:Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
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1:
921:, "Die Geschichte des Ringes"
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206:After early performances in
191:of the then crown prince of
146:Devrient, a close friend of
131:are uncertain; according to
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389:Bearers of the Iffland-Ring
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882:, "Die Legende des Ringes"
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84:, named after the actress
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289:Austrian National Library
117:Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
773:Laws governing the ring
73:, having been named by
1175:August Wilhelm Iffland
969:, "Albert Bassermann".
414:August Wilhelm Iffland
51:state property of the
33:August Wilhelm Iffland
354:; Meinrad had chosen
894:, "Ludwig Devrient".
197:Friedrich Wilhelm IV
16:German theatre award
53:Republic of Austria
1080:"Der Iffland-Ring"
1060:"Der Iffland-Ring"
1036:by Simon Strauss,
993:, "Werner Krauss".
906:, "Emil Devrient".
421:22 September 1814
77:as his successor.
31:with a picture of
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1206:Albert Bassermann
1064:rolf-krekeler.com
1024:, 2 October 2014.
798:Prince des poètes
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703:16 February 2019
675:18 February 1996
591:7 September 1867
587:Albert Bassermann
474:4 September 1803
449:30 December 1832
446:15 December 1784
339:Alma-Seidler-Ring
275:Hermann Röbbeling
259:Alexander Girardi
250:Albert Bassermann
214:, Haase moved to
148:E. T. A. Hoffmann
133:Albert Bassermann
82:Alma-Seidler-Ring
48:Albert Bassermann
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1088:. Retrieved
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408:Nationality
396:Ring-bearer
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44:Werner Krauß
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21:Iffland-Ring
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1226:Jens Harzer
1113:(in German)
1086:(in German)
1066:(in German)
1044:(in German)
856:ordenskunde
724:Jens Harzer
616:Interregnum
383:Jens Harzer
377:Jens Harzer
352:Switzerland
317:interregnum
278: [
271:Burgtheater
107:Romanticism
71:Jens Harzer
1241:Categories
1221:Bruno Ganz
1021:Die Presse
804:References
706:1996–2019
696:Bruno Ganz
678:1959–1996
639:1954–1959
621:1952–1954
597:1911–1952
558:1878–1911
519:1872–1878
480:1832–1872
452:1814–1832
362:Bruno Ganz
356:Bruno Ganz
75:Bruno Ganz
60:apocryphal
405:Duration
371:Gert Voss
327:King Lear
228:Frankfurt
220:Karlsruhe
153:King Lear
27:-studded
1172:Founder:
1090:23 March
1070:23 March
1003:Krekeler
991:Krekeler
979:Krekeler
967:Krekeler
955:Krekeler
943:Krekeler
931:Krekeler
919:Krekeler
904:Krekeler
892:Krekeler
880:Krekeler
835:Krekeler
792:See also
689:Austrian
661:Austrian
569:Prussian
530:Prussian
463:Prussian
435:Prussian
236:New York
1053:Sources
731:
424:?−1814
208:Potsdam
193:Prussia
137:Breslau
97:Origins
92:History
25:diamond
823:online
745:German
734:2019–
650:German
608:German
580:German
541:German
502:German
293:Vienna
224:Munich
216:Prague
212:Weimar
141:Berlin
717:Swiss
491:Saxon
402:Died
399:Born
282:]
180:From
23:is a
1092:2019
1072:2019
821:Time
261:and
234:and
210:and
37:will
29:ring
19:The
1018:".
291:in
115:by
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280:de
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39:.
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