This apartment complex is unlike any other in the world.
The reason? The rent is only 0.88 euro ($1 USD) per year.
No, that’s not a mistake.
The rent really is that low. The project is called “Fuggerei” in German, and it’s one of the oldest social housing projects in the world, writes Hefty. It was started in 1521 by banker Jakob Fugger as a housing project for poor people.
To be allowed to live at Fuggerei, residents have always needed to meet three criteria: they need to have lived in the German city of Augsburg for at least two years, they have to be Catholic, and they should be extremely poor. (Earlier, residents were also required to pray every day for the Fugger family.)
Today, 150 people live in 140 different apartments spread out among 67 buildings.
If a resident returns home after 10:00 p.m., they have to pay 1 euro ($1.15 USD) – more than a year’s rent! – to get back in. The gates are closed from 10:00 p.m. to 05:00 a.m. and are guarded by a security team made up of residents. Because of this, most people try to avoid coming home later than that.
The unimaginably low rent has never changed since it cost one so-called “Rheingulden,” a gold coin used in the region during the Middle Ages. The coin is estimated to be worth around 0.88 euro ($1 USD) today.
Don’t meet the criteria? Don’t be sad! Tourists are welcome drop by “Fuggerei” – and it seems well worth a visit.
I can’t believe that this community has been going strong for more than 500 years!
Share if you also think that this community is cool.
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