Jakob Fugger fixed the Fuggerei's rent at one guilder a year in 1521, and the rent has not changed in 505 years

Jakob Fugger "the Rich" (1459-1525) began building in 1516. On 23 August 1521 he signed the deed founding the Fuggerei, to exist "in perpetuity." By 1521 there were 52 buildings. Residents must be Catholic, needy, of good character and citizens of Augsburg; beggars are not eligible. They pay one Rhenish guilder a year, now about €0.88, and say three prayers a day for the Fugger family. The gates close at night, and late entry costs €0.50, or €1 after midnight. The Fuggerei is tax-exempt under a contract with the city for as long as the rent stays at or below one guilder. The mason Franz Mozart, great-grandfather of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, lived there from 1681 to 1694. The settlement was heavily damaged by bombing in the Second World War and rebuilt in its original style. Funding has come mainly from forestry since the late 18th century; today about 70 percent comes from forests, 10 percent from property and 20 percent from entrance fees. In 2026 about 150 people live in 142 apartments in 67 houses. The Fugger family foundations still run it. The Fugger bank's fortune was lost by Jakob's heirs (see story s18 on the site); the endowment was not.