5 ms·

Fuggerei: the world’s first public housing (2022)

65 points by Bowes-Lyon 2y ago

InDubioProRubio 2y ago
You goto pray 3 father-ours for the old fugger, so that he is released from purgatory.. and kukas iwa gets cheaper..
- graeber_28927 2y ago
  I love the thought that middle age philanthropy apparently carried potential for making the hackernews frontpage 500 years later.
  - InDubioProRubio 2y ago
    You can imagine how immortal some ideas might get. Some brilliant spark, might be quoted down to heat death if we make it. If you make a idea that gets reproduced constantly - that is immortality.
agent327 2y ago
There's one in the Netherlands that dates back to 1395: https://hofjesinhaarlem.nl/hofjes-in-haarlem/hofje-de-bakenesserkamer/ https://hofjesinhaarlem.nl/hofjes-in-haarlem/hofje-de-bakene...
ce4 2y ago
It is still in operation and is a nice place (sometimes a bit crowded...). PS: the old purely mechanical doorbells are also still operational (can be seen in the photograph, the forged metal rod to the left/right of the entrances) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei
- dewey 2y ago
  German version has more pictures: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei
- rootusrootus 2y ago
  > purely mechanical doorbells And very elaborate, too! Mechanical doorbells are pretty common here (old city, by US standards, on the west coast), but they are just a handle on the front of the door with a rod that goes through it to a bell on the inside.
  - zvr 2y ago
    Each house has a completely different design on its doorbell: when you come home in the middle of the night (and/or you're drunk), you can recognize your house among every other similar house on the row only by touch.
cubefox 2y ago
Now I wonder whether the rent changed.
- brewmarche 2y ago
  Never changed, it’s still 88 cents per year. However utilities are not included so they make up the majority of the cost.
  - RapperWhoMadeIt 2y ago
    It is nonetheless extremely cheap (in comparison to rents in Augsburg and near-by Munich) and has life-changing consequences for the people living there, since they do not have to allocate a big amount of their income into housing.
    - schroeding 2y ago
      In comparison: The average rent in Augsburg for a 60m³ flat is around 756 Euros (way more for new contracts and furnished flats), the median net income in Germany is ~ 2244 Euros. One downside, if you're on the taller side, is that the doors in the Fuggerei are only like 5'8, though - and if you're taller than 6'4 or so, even the ceiling height becomes a problem. :D
      - perihelions 2y ago
        I don't know why medieval homies built doors so short. They weren't short people. There's documented incidents of medieval kings accidentally dying from hitting their head on door lintels, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France#Death - "Charles died in 1498, two and a half years after his retreat from Italy, as the result of an accident. While on his way to watch a game of jeu de paume (real tennis) in Amboise he struck his head on the lintel of a door.[22]."
        endominus 2y ago
mcmcmc 2y ago
Interesting that they still discriminate based on religion.
steve1977 2y ago
What is interesting (and maybe also telling to a degree) is that this "first public housing" isn't actually "public" housing, as in government-owned. It's private. And I would obviously fail all three requirements to get housing there: Be an Augsburg resident, a Catholic, and a respectable person.
netsharc 2y ago
Jakob Fugger became so rich that he loaned money to the Catholic Church to build the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The Catholic church was panicking on how to repay those loans, that they started selling indulgences, and this lead to Martin Luther protesting, and launching Protestanism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Fugger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Fugger > In the year 1500, Jakob Fugger loaned the Vatican the money necessary to build the new St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, as well as other buildings within the Vatican. To repay Jakob the massive amount of money owed, Pope Leo X had to heavily tax the German people as well as sell indulgences, which was heavily unpopular with a large group of monks, including Martin Luther. Partly because of the corruption within the church, Martin Luther was prompted to write his Ninety-five Theses.
- pax 2y ago
  > ... Jakob Fugger was already representing his family business in Venice in 1473 at the age of 14
askafriend 2y ago
Really unfortunate name...
Bluestein 2y ago
One of my favourite subjects :) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40754737 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40754737

65 points by Bowes-Lyon 2y ago

InDubioProRubio 2y ago

You goto pray 3 father-ours for the old fugger, so that he is released from purgatory.. and kukas iwa gets cheaper..

graeber_28927 2y ago
I love the thought that middle age philanthropy apparently carried potential for making the hackernews frontpage 500 years later.
- InDubioProRubio 2y ago
  You can imagine how immortal some ideas might get. Some brilliant spark, might be quoted down to heat death if we make it. If you make a idea that gets reproduced constantly - that is immortality.

agent327 2y ago

There's one in the Netherlands that dates back to 1395: https://hofjesinhaarlem.nl/hofjes-in-haarlem/hofje-de-bakenesserkamer/ https://hofjesinhaarlem.nl/hofjes-in-haarlem/hofje-de-bakene...

ce4 2y ago

It is still in operation and is a nice place (sometimes a bit crowded...). PS: the old purely mechanical doorbells are also still operational (can be seen in the photograph, the forged metal rod to the left/right of the entrances) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei

dewey 2y ago
German version has more pictures: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei
rootusrootus 2y ago
> purely mechanical doorbells And very elaborate, too! Mechanical doorbells are pretty common here (old city, by US standards, on the west coast), but they are just a handle on the front of the door with a rod that goes through it to a bell on the inside.
- zvr 2y ago
  Each house has a completely different design on its doorbell: when you come home in the middle of the night (and/or you're drunk), you can recognize your house among every other similar house on the row only by touch.

cubefox 2y ago

Now I wonder whether the rent changed.

brewmarche 2y ago
Never changed, it’s still 88 cents per year. However utilities are not included so they make up the majority of the cost.
- RapperWhoMadeIt 2y ago
  It is nonetheless extremely cheap (in comparison to rents in Augsburg and near-by Munich) and has life-changing consequences for the people living there, since they do not have to allocate a big amount of their income into housing.
  - schroeding 2y ago
    In comparison: The average rent in Augsburg for a 60m³ flat is around 756 Euros (way more for new contracts and furnished flats), the median net income in Germany is ~ 2244 Euros. One downside, if you're on the taller side, is that the doors in the Fuggerei are only like 5'8, though - and if you're taller than 6'4 or so, even the ceiling height becomes a problem. :D
    - perihelions 2y ago
      I don't know why medieval homies built doors so short. They weren't short people. There's documented incidents of medieval kings accidentally dying from hitting their head on door lintels, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France#Death - "Charles died in 1498, two and a half years after his retreat from Italy, as the result of an accident. While on his way to watch a game of jeu de paume (real tennis) in Amboise he struck his head on the lintel of a door.[22]."
      - endominus 2y ago

mcmcmc 2y ago

Interesting that they still discriminate based on religion.

steve1977 2y ago

What is interesting (and maybe also telling to a degree) is that this "first public housing" isn't actually "public" housing, as in government-owned. It's private. And I would obviously fail all three requirements to get housing there: Be an Augsburg resident, a Catholic, and a respectable person.

netsharc 2y ago

Jakob Fugger became so rich that he loaned money to the Catholic Church to build the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The Catholic church was panicking on how to repay those loans, that they started selling indulgences, and this lead to Martin Luther protesting, and launching Protestanism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Fugger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Fugger > In the year 1500, Jakob Fugger loaned the Vatican the money necessary to build the new St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, as well as other buildings within the Vatican. To repay Jakob the massive amount of money owed, Pope Leo X had to heavily tax the German people as well as sell indulgences, which was heavily unpopular with a large group of monks, including Martin Luther. Partly because of the corruption within the church, Martin Luther was prompted to write his Ninety-five Theses.

pax 2y ago
> ... Jakob Fugger was already representing his family business in Venice in 1473 at the age of 14

askafriend 2y ago

Really unfortunate name...

Bluestein 2y ago

One of my favourite subjects :) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40754737 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40754737