A Year's Rent Costs Less Than a Cup of Coffee in Belgrade

Remarkably, this amount was established in 1521 and has remained unchanged ever since.

A Settlement Half a Millennium Old

Fuggerei was founded by Jakob Fugger, one of the most powerful and wealthy figures in 16th-century Europe.

Fugger's vast trade and banking network financed emperors and kings, and his influence extended across much of Europe. Despite his immense wealth, he was deeply religious and chose to dedicate part of his fortune to charitable causes.

In 1521, he established a housing settlement for poor but respectable citizens of Augsburg. Construction had begun several years earlier, and by the early 16th century, a small walled community, effectively a "city within a city" - had taken shape.

Rent Unchanged for 500 Years

Residents of Fuggerei still pay an annual rent of €0.88, a symbolic amount based on the value of a Rhine guilder in the 16th century.

At the time, that sum represented approximately a month's wages for an ordinary worker. Today, it is less than the price of a cup of coffee.

An interesting paradox is that visitors now pay around €6.50 to enter the settlement—more than a resident pays in rent over seven years.

Rules That Have Endured for Centuries

Living in Fuggerei comes with specific conditions. Applicants must be Catholic, have lived in Augsburg for at least two years, and demonstrate financial need.

There is also a unique requirement that has remained in place for centuries: residents must pray three times a day for the soul of Jakob Fugger and the well-being of his family.

A Walled "City Within a City"

Today, Fuggerei remains a fully functioning residential community. Enclosed by walls, it has gates that are still closed each evening, much as they were in the Middle Ages.

Inside the complex are neatly arranged streets, rows of nearly identical houses, a small square, and St. Mark's Church.

Approximately 150 to 200 people currently live in Fuggerei. Most are elderly residents with modest incomes, although younger tenants have also found a home there after being priced out of Augsburg's increasingly expensive housing market.

More than 500 years after its founding, Fuggerei continues to operate as one of Europe's most remarkable and enduring social experiments.