A German retiree will live an unprecedented experience at your age, after receiving the keys to a house located in An ancient residence of Augsburg, where you will only have to pay only 88 euro cents (almost one dollar) To inhabit it.
This community was founded in 1521 by the Banker Jacob Fugger with the objective of Offer affordable accommodation to low -income people. Five centuries later, it is still active and houses about 150 people.
The rent did not change since its creation. The monthly payment symbolizes the old fee of a Renano florin, which represented the weekly salary of a craftsman in the 16th century. This symbolic rate remains tribute to the original vision of its founder.
He played a background, beat a terminal disease and now received an ancient proposal that changed his life
Angelika, just over 60 years oldhe says that his life passed without major difficulties until 55 years. However, a Cancer diagnosis radically changed its economic situation, leaving it without resources. It was then that he decided to run to enter the Fuggereia process that can take between two and seven years, depending on the type of housing requested.
To be admitted, Applicants must meet three essential requirements: “Reside in Augsburg, be practicing Catholics and find themselves in a vulnerable economic situation”he explains Doris HerzogSocial worker in charge of evaluating applications.
The experience of another German resident
Martha Jesseanother resident, settled there 17 years ago. Despite having worked for 45 years, his pension was insufficient to cover a conventional rental. “With 400 euros a month, living out of here would have been practically impossible,” The 77 -year -old woman comments.
The complex, with its yellow facade houses, green countervanas, well careful gardens and architectural details that evoke another era, seems taken from a story. Rebuilt after the Second World Warmaintains its historical charm along which serves as a refuge in the face of the growing housing crisis in Germany.
Andreas Tervoorenwho lives there since 2017, describes fuggerei as “A city within the city”and even compares it to the small town of Astérixwhich resists the pressures of the outside world. In this case, the fuggerei resists real estate speculation and upward of the rental price that affects a large part of the country, especially in nearby regions such as Munich, where costs per square meter are among the highest in Europe.
The maintenance of the place is in charge of a foundation that manages the income from properties, forests and tourist activities. Although Fugger descendants still guide management, they do not provide direct financial resources.
In addition to symbolic rental, residents must fulfill a tradition that has lasts for 500 years: to pray daily for the soul of Jacob Fugger and his family, as a form of gratitude and spiritual continuity of the founding legacy.
Source: Ambito
