Mašelj (; in older sources also ''Mašlje'',''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 152. Ferenc, Mitja. 2007. ''Nekdanji nemški jezikovni otok na kočevskem''. Kočevje: Pokrajinski muzej, p. 4. or ''Maschen'') is a small settlement in the

Municipality of Semič The Municipality of Semič (; ) is a Municipalities of Slovenia, municipality in Slovenia in the traditional region of White Carniola in southeastern Slovenia. The municipality is included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. Its seat is ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The area is part of the historical region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region in Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south an ...

. The municipality is now included in the

Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region The Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region () is a statistical region in southeast Slovenia. It is the largest statistical region. The development of this region is largely the result of industry (the auto industry, pharmaceuticals, and other light ...

.Semič municipal site
/ref> Mašelj is known locally as ''Graben''.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 45. The settlement has no permanent residents today.

History

Mašelj was a Gottschee German village. It was not yet mentioned in the Kočevje land registry of 1574 and was probably founded in the 17th century.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 19508 Before the Second World War it had eight houses, two sawmills, two mills, and an electrical plant that provided power to Mašelj and Črmošnjice. The residents were expelled in December 1941, and five houses were burned in the summer of 1942. After the

armistice with Italy The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

the Partisans established a mechanical workshop in one of the houses, and a kitchen and bath in another house. One mill in Mašelj is said to have operated until the end of the war and one sawmill into the 1950s, but today there are only scant remains of these. The site of the village is registered as cultural heritage.

References

External links

Mašelj on GeopediaPre–World War II map of Mašelj with oeconyms and family names
Populated places in the Municipality of Semič {{Semič-geo-stub