Micheles House @museum.de

M: From the outside, it looks quite unremarkable – a house with green shutters and a small, reddish-brown entrance door.

F: But the Micheles House is Mögglingen's oldest surviving dwelling. The history of its residents can be traced back all the way to 1513. In the early days, the building served as a rectory and what's known as a tithe barn. The local farmers were obliged to pay tax to the church, and this was where they delivered their grain and other produce. It was always ten per cent – or a tithe.

M: In 1760, the time had finally come for the local priest to pack his bags. The new rectory was finally ready. The move was probably quite a simple affair. After all, he was only moving across the street.

F: Though the remarkably grand rectory somehow doesn't seem to fit in here at all. That may have something to do with the man who built it – none other than Johann Michael Keller the Younger.

M: Johann Michael Keller?

F: He was the official master builder in the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd. His achievements there include building the Church of St Augustine and the town hall.

M: But back to the Micheles House. After the priest had moved out, the local mayor and his office moved in. The first community leader who lived here from 1760 onwards was a certain Johann Elser. He founded an entire mayoral dynasty:

F: The village mayor came from the Elser family four times in a row – which means that for more than eight decades, the fate of the village was determined by the Elsers. They in turn were followed by the Rieg family, who held the office of mayor three times in succession. The last of them, Ignaz Rieg, met a sorry end: he drowned in 1887 when the River Rems burst its banks. Here's the newspaper report:

M: "A terrible, pitch-black night in March, lashed by storm and rain, chose as its victim a young man with abundant youthful energy, who was walking along cheerfully and without a care. (...) Just a few steps, a single misstep, and that young life descended into the watery depths. He was to return to his staunchly caring father and his siblings as a dead man (...).

F: Which brings us to how the house got its name. The last but one resident was a farmer called Michael Schweizer, but he was known locally by a nickname: Kirchen-Michel (Church Mick). And his house was simply Mick's House – Micheleshaus.

M: The building itself is what's known as an Eindachhaus – which combines the living quarters, stable and barn and all the goods and chattels under one roof. Of course, that requires a roof structure of colossal size. Over time, the house was remodelled several times. The upper floor is half-timbered. Beginning in 2007, it was restored with significant input from volunteers – and turned into a museum of local history.