The Fuggerei is the world's oldest

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

complex still in use. It is a walled

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

within the city of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. It takes its name from the

Fugger family The House of Fugger () is a German upper bourgeois family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and vent ...

and was founded in 1516 by Jakob Fugger the Younger (known as "Jakob Fugger the Rich") as a place where the needy citizens of Augsburg could be housed. By 1523, 52 houses had been built, and in the coming years the area expanded with various streets, small squares and a church. The gates were locked at night, so the Fuggerei was, in its own right, very similar to a small independent medieval town. It is still inhabited today, affording it the status of being the oldest public housing project in the world.

Description

The rent was and still is one Rhenish ''gulden'' per year (equivalent to 0.88 euros), as well as to make three daily prayers for the current owners of the – the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

, and the Nicene Creed – and to work a part-time job in the community. The conditions to live there remain the same as they were 500 years ago: one must have lived at least two years in Augsburg, be of the Catholic faith and have become

indigent Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

without debt. The five gates are still locked every day at 10 PM. Housing units in the area consist of 45 to 65 square metre (500–700 square foot) apartments, but because each unit has its own street entrance it simulates living in a house. There is no shared accommodation; each family has its own apartment, which includes a kitchen, a parlour, a bedroom and a tiny spare room, altogether totalling about 60 square metres. Ground-floor apartments all have a small garden and garden shed, while upper-floor apartments have an attic. All apartments have modern conveniences such as television and running water. One ground-floor apartment is uninhabited, serving as a museum open to the public. The doorbells have elaborate shapes, each being unique, dating back to before the installation of streetlights when residents could identify their door by feeling the handle in the dark.

History

The Fugger family initially established their wealth in weaving and merchandising. Jakob the Rich expanded their interests into silver mining and trading with

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. Additionally he was a financier and counted the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

as a notable client. The family became financial backers of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

family, and he financed the successful election of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

as Emperor of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

in 1519. The Fuggerei was first built between 1514 and 1523 under the supervision of the architect Thomas Krebs, and in 1582, Hans Holl added St. Mark's Church to the settlement. Expanded further in 1880 and 1938, the Fuggerei today comprises 67 houses with 147 apartments, a well and an administrative building.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's great-grandfather, the mason Franz Mozart, lived in the Fuggerei between 1681 and 1694 and is commemorated today by a stone plaque. The Fuggerei was heavily damaged by the bombings of Augsburg during World War II but has been rebuilt in its original style.

Upkeep

The Fuggerei is supported by a charitable trust established in 1520 which Jakob Fugger funded with an initial deposit of 10,000 guilders. According to ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', the trust has been carefully managed with most of its income coming from forestry holdings, which the Fugger family favoured since the 17th century after losing money on higher yielding investments. The annual return on the trust has ranged from an after-inflation rate of 0.5% to 2%. The Fugger family foundation is currently headed by Maria-Elisabeth Gräfin

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thou ...

-Fugger, ''née'' Gräfin Fugger von Kirchberg, who lives at Kirchberg Castle. Other member of the foundations's board are Alexander Graf Fugger-Babenhausen and Maria-Theresia Gräfin Fugger-Glött. All three still existing branches of the Fugger family are thus represented. The trust is administered by Wolf-Dietrich Graf von Hundt. As of 2020, the fee for a tour into the Fuggerei is 6.50 euro, over seven times the annual rent. File:Fugger_Fuggerei-Markuskirche+Herrengasse.jpg, St. Mark's Church and Herrengasse File:Augsburg - Herrengasse.jpg, Herrengasse File:Fugger_viertel_brunnen.jpg, Mittlere Gasse and well File:Fugger Fuggerei Schauwohnung.jpg, Exhibition apartment File:Fugger Fuggerei wkbunkermuseum.jpg, Exhibition in World War II air raid shelter File:Fugger_Fuggerei_Gorbatschow.jpg, Countess Elisabeth Thun-Fugger with Mikhail Gorbachev, 2005

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Affordable housing Buildings and structures in Augsburg Buildings and structures associated with the Fugger family 1516 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Museums in Bavaria History museums in Germany Populated places established in 1516

Description

History

Upkeep

See Also

References

External links