Fuggerei

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A street in the Fuggerei

The Fuggerei is a walled enclave within the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. It takes it name from the Fugger family and was founded in 1516 by Jacob Fugger the Younger (known as "Jacob 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.

The rent was and is still one Rheinischer Gulden per year (equivalent of 0,88 Euros) and three prayers a day for the current owner of the Fuggerei. The conditions to live there are today still the same as 480 years ago: You have to be born in Augsburg, Catholic and indigent. The gates are still locked every day at 10 p.m..

There is no shared accommodation, as each family has its own apartment. Each building contains 2 apartments, one on each floor. Each apartment comprises a kitchen, a parlour, a bedroom and a tiny room, about 60 square metres in total. Each ground-floor apartment has a small garden and garden shed, while the upper-floor has an attic.

The Fuggerei was heavily damaged by the World War II bombings of Augsburg but has been rebuilt in its original style. It is still inhabited today.