Finds of coins and vessels bear witness to Celtic settlement on the Burgkopf, a nearby mountain spur, as do remnants of a Roman temple and two grave complexes that have been unearthed. In 1056, Mastershausen had its first documentary mention as Malestreshusen; the church was first mentioned in 1220. Beginning in 1316, Mastershausen, together with 15 neighbouring places, belonged to the Amt of Balduinseck in the Electorate of Trier. In 1325, Castle Balduinseck was built as the Amt seat. Its ruin is still among the municipality’s points of interest. Some timber-frame buildings, too, have been preserved. Beginning in 1794, Mastershausen lay under French rule. In 1814 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Until 1970, the municipality belonged to the Amt of Blankenrath, but under the Eighth Verwaltungsvereinfachungsgesetz of 18 July 1970, with effect from 7 November 1970, the municipality was grouped into the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and has ever since belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kastellaun. The town of Kastellaun is also where the municipal administration is located.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipality’s arms might be described thus: Tierced in mantle reversed, dexter argent a cross gules and sinister argent a cross sable, between which sable a crown Or. The red cross is the arms formerly borne by the Electorate of Trier, to which Mastershausen belonged for more than 400 years. The black cross is the arms borne by the Cologne Cathedral Foundation, which until 1794 held collation rights in Mastershausen. The golden crown on the black field recalls Queen Richeza of Poland, who donated holdings at Malestreshusen to the Brauweiler Monastery.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
At Johann-Steffen-Straße 29 – Joseph sculpture under wooden baldachin, 19th century
Kirchstraße 8 – former rectory; solid building, marked 1903, essentially possibly from the latter half of the 19th century, timber-frame barn, partly solid; whole complex of buildings
Near Kirchstraße 9 – former school; plastered timber-frame house, 19th century; basalt grave cross, marked 1748
Zum Mautzbach 1 – Quereinhaus, partly slated, marked 1902
