Rent control, Fuggerei style

There aren't a lot of people living in the Fuggerei, a walled village within the walled city of Augsburg, in Germany.

In fact, there are only 150 of them, living in 142 one-bedroom apartments - LR, Kitchen, 1BR, Bath - in what bills itself on its website as "the oldest existing social housing complex in the world."

The Fuggerei has been around for over 500 years, but I just came across it a month or so ago. Now, I'm thinking of making a special trip to Germany to check it out.

The complex was established in 1516 by Jakob Fugger, a wealthy local banker who wanted to create affordable housing for workers who were trading in the farm for city life, and flocking to Augsburg. 

The annual rent was one Rheinischer Gulden, then roughly the equivalent of a month's rent, and today equivalent to $1.07. And the annual rent today remains the same. Not the same as in the equivalent of a month's rent. The rent is actually $1.07 a year - self-imposed rent control.

Talk about the ultimate in rent stabilization. 

Here were the requirements in 1516:

To live in the Fuggerei, the applicant must be of Catholic faith, low income, zero debt, and be “upstanding” in the community (whatever that meant). Besides these requirements, you had to promise to say three daily prayers for the Fugger family. Then there was the matter of the curfew

If you were caught outside of the walls after 10 p.m., you had to pay admission to reenter the Fuggerei. (Source: Night Daily)

Although the curfew has been relaxed a bit - and there's indoor plumbing and other modern conveniences - the requirements remain pretty much the same. (All residents have to take on some part-time task to support the community, at jobs such as landscaping or night watch.) And if you're wondering what the prayers are: one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Apostles Creed, which sounds kind of like a typical penance given to a kid when they're making their Confession.

The complex has duplicate red-roofed structures that are two floors, with an apartment on each, and by 1523 it reached 52 buildings. The Fuggerei eventually gained its own town square and a Catholic church, becoming a true settlement, instead of a walled-in neighborhood. Soon, local officials had to look to the future.

In 1521, Jakob gave the Fuggerei to his hometown, stipulating that the rules would be kept in place, and that the Fugger family would remain involved. (Today, the Fugger Foundation maintains the community.)

Over the years centuries, the settlement has been updated. Indeed, 75% of the buildings were destroyed by bombing during World War II. They were rebuilt to have the same external look and feel and the little town is utterly charming. Whatever the modernizations, some of its quirks have been preserved. 

Because of its age, there are still some odd features floating around, such as its doorbell pulls. With each apartment being identical, residents would accidentally go into each other’s homes. To resolve this, the construction team built unique iron pulls for every door.

Besides the iron pulls, there are still hand-pump wells scattered across the grounds. There’s also a cast-iron fountain from 1744, a few buildings with their original 16-century address numbers, and an ancient school, hospital, restaurant, beer garden, and church are still functional.

The Fuggerei apartments are on the small-ish side - 500 to 700 square feet - so okay, according to this tiny house girl, for a single person. A bit more challenging for a married couple but, hey, the price is right. And saying a few prayers a day, and contributing to community life, hardly make for an onerous burden when you're only paying a buck a month to live there.  

There have been some notable residents over the years. Mozart's great-grandfather, Frank Mozart, once lived there. And Dorothea Braun got caught up in the Augsburg witch hunt of the 1600's. The authorities coerced Dorothea's daughter into accusing her mother, and coerced a confession out of Dorothea herself, who was beheaded and had her body burned.

If you're ever in Augsburg, you can take a tour of the complex. The price of admissions is four Euro. Or about five times the monthly rent.

Prayer requirements aside, we could use a few more Fuggereis around here.

Can't wait to see the Fuggerei for myself.