Set inside a walled enclave in the city of Augsburg, Fuggerei is the world’s oldest social housing complex still in use. Named for its founder, Jakob Fugger, it was set up in 1521 for the city’s poorer inhabitants, eventually growing to include 67 houses, 142 apartments, a church, and an administrative building. Today, it continues to house Augsburg’s lower-income residents, who pay an annual rent of just one Rhenish guilder (less than a euro). Each family gets their own apartment, which includes a kitchen, parlor, bedroom, and tiny spare room, plus modern conveniences like plumbing and televisions. Ground-floor units have small gardens and sheds, while upper-floor apartments have attics. In order to live here, however, one must be an Augsburg resident for a minimum of two years prior to application and prove they became indigent without any outstanding debt. They must also strictly adhere to the Catholic faith—and pray to the Fugger family three times a day.
In addition to housing, the complex features three museums: a historical one about the Fuggerei’s origins and development, one about life there today, and one about the destruction of the Fuggerei during World War II.
