In 1521, the wealthy merchant-banker Jakob Fugger endowed a housing complex for needy citizens of Augsburg, thus founding the world’s first social housing project. It was built according to the plans of architect Thomas Krebs and – like a small city within a city – had its own church and was surrounded by a wall. The rent was one gulden per year and three prayers per day for the benefactor and his family. Known as the “Fuggerei,” the complex was severely damaged in various wars throughout the centuries. It was rebuilt after the Second World War and continues to be inhabited to this day.