Meet the Fuggers: Jakob ‘the Rich’ and his family

Jakob 'the Rich' Fugger and his family were bankers and merchants who controlled much of Europe's economy in the 15th and 16th centuries. One of Europe's wealthiest families, the Fuggers created kings, gave life to cities and led to a split within the Church.

Originating in the Bavarian city Augsburg, they accumulated enormous wealth and controlled a significant amount of trade, particularly in mining.

This blog introduces some stories of the Fugger family from across Europe, in particular looking at Jakob Fugger 'the Rich' who is considered to be one of the wealthiest people ever to have lived.

How the Fuggers shaped cities

The Fugger fortune stemmed from their textile and weaving businesses, in addition to their banking activities.

The many branches of the Fugger family amassed their fortunes by trading in a diversity of products: textiles, spices, jewels, and even religious relics such as martyrs' bones and fragments of crosses. By expanding his capital in the late 15th century, Jakob 'the Rich' became the banker for increasingly affluent individuals.

However, it was the family’s involvement in mining that significantly expanded their wealth, as rulers offered them mining rights in Hungary and Tyrol as a form of debt repayment.

In Schwaz, Tyrol, Archduke Sigismund of Austria offered Jakob 'the mother of all silver mines' as a repayment for a loan which had funded his lavish lifestyle.

Due to the Fuggers’ industrial activities, people flocked to Schwaz, making it the largest mining metropolis in the world in the first half of the 16th century.

The population boomed, which meant that the parish church in Schwaz had to be enlarged. A brick wall in the central aisle was built to separate miners from wealthier individuals.

The Fuggerei

In Augsburg, the Fugger family's hometown, Jakob established one of his most renowned philanthropic endeavours: the Fuggerei.

Founded in 1521, the Fuggerei provided affordable housing for the city's poorest citizens at a cost of one florin (equivalent to 0.88 euros) per year, along with the obligation to offer three prayers for Jakob.

Remarkably, the rent has remained unchanged to this day. It remains the oldest existing example of social housing.

Slovak mines

Banská Štiavnica is one of the one of the most important cities in Central Slovakia, it is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its uniqueness. For centuries, it has been the site of mines, yielding copper, silver, and gold that were traded throughout Europe.

From 1495, many mines in the area of Banská Štiavnica and the nearby Banská Bystrica were controlled by the Fugger family. They controlled the 16th century copper trade - copper was a highly valuable resource, as it was essential for producing cannons and bayonets.

Kingmaker

The Fuggers were one of the most influential families of the era. Jakob 'the Rich' is considered one of the wealthiest individuals in history, with an estimated fortune equivalent to 400 billion euros today. With this great wealth came great power.

Jakob supported Maximilian I of Habsburg in his accession to the Holy Roman Emperor throne by paying 800,000 florins. While this might be seen as corruption by today's standards, it was customary for rulers of that time to demonstrate their economic power by offering such payments to elector princes.

Jakob was known for being a businessman who regularly chased his debts and would often send letters demanding repayment.

In 1523, he wrote a letter demanding a payment not to the spice trader who owed him money, but to Charles V of Habsburg, then the most powerful man on Earth. Charles V - the grandson of Maximilian I - held 81 titles, including Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Spain, King of Naples, King of Jerusalem, Duke of Burgundy, and Lord of Asia and Africa. People considered Charles V to be divine and tried to touch him because of his supposed healing abilities.

In his letter, Jakob reminded him 'It is worth noting that His Majesty would not have the imperial crown without me. You must calculate the money you owe me and pay me without further delay.'

Deals with the devil - and the Pope

The Fuggers served as bankers to Popes, financing projects like the Sistine Chapel.

They managed the sale of indulgences, which were a way to reduce punishments for sins committed. Criticism of this system contributed to the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther. Their trade in indulgences led to accusations that the Fugger family had connections to the devil.

The Fugger family were attracted to Trento, a city in Italy which played a pivotal role as a trade hub connecting northern Europe, Spain and Venice.

They owned a palace in the city known as 'the Devil's Palace'. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe recounted the legend behind its name: when Georg Fugger arrived in Trento in early 1600, he fell in love with the noble Elena Madruzzo. However, her parents would only consent to their marriage if Georg had a beautiful house in Trento. Georg supposedly invoked the devil, who constructed the palace in a single night.

After the Fuggers

The Fugger family's influence waned over the generations. In 1657, the Fuggers’ company came to an end.

The resources of Banská Bystrica had been depleted by the Fuggers' mining operations, resulting in a decline in global interest and the depopulation of the region from the end of the 16th century.

Today, the mines and mining villages of Central Slovakia play an important part in promoting the country's history and heritage of mining in light of a new wave of cultural tourism.