The German village where tourists pay four years rent to walk through the gate
The small gated community of Fuggerei is a charming German village that traces its origins back to 1520 and is a unique tourist experience that is well worth a visit despite the price of admission.
No, I haven’t lost my mind, and no, the headline isn’t a typo. It really will cost you more than four times the annual rent paid by the village’s 150 residents to visit the village. But don’t worry as the rent hasn’t increased here in almost 500 years. You see, that’s what makes this place special; the cost to live in one of the 67 homes or 147 apartments in the village is just 88 euro cents , or about one single U.S. dollar. So don’t stress, as a tourist, your entry fee will only set back €4 per person.
Built by a wealthy German banker, Jakob Fugger, in 1520 as a social housing complex open to poor and needy residents of Augsburg, Fugger’s mission continues to help needy residents to this day. Funded largely through the charitable trust Fugger set up to bankroll Fuggerei there has never been a need to raise the rent.
People on low incomes can live in Fuggerei for an annual…
