Myślenice County

Myślenice County (Polish: powiat myślenicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Myślenice, which lies 26 kilometres (16 mi) south of the regional capital Kraków. The county also contains the towns of Sułkowice, lying 10 km (6 mi) west of Myślenice, and Dobczyce, 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Myślenice.

The county covers an area of 673.3 square kilometres (260.0 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 116,793, out of which the population of Myślenice is 18,070, that of Sułkowice is 6,305, that of Dobczyce is 6,028, and the rural population is 86,390.

Neighbouring counties

Myślenice County is bordered by Kraków County and Wieliczka County to the north, Bochnia County and Limanowa County to the east, Nowy Targ County to the south, and Sucha County and Wadowice County to the west.

Myślenice

Myślenice [mɨɕlɛˈɲit͡sɛ] is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). Population: 20,261(2007). The town is divided into six districts. One of them, Zarabie, is a popular tourist destination. It is located behind the Raba river (hence the name), and it has Chełm mountain, with a view tower, a landscape park and ski lifts.

Myślenice is located on the so-called Zakopianka Road, which is a popular name of the European route E77 road, connecting Kraków with Zakopane (the E77 itself separates itself from the Zakopianka at Rabka). Myślenice does not have a train station.

First mentions of Myślenice come from 1253 - 1258. At that time, it was a defensive settlement, with a castle and fortifications, designed to protect Kraków from the south. In 1342, Myślenice received its Magdeburg rights town charter, and it started to develop into a local commercial center. Among visitors who came here, were Mikolaj Rej, King Władysław II Jagiełło, German emperor Sigismund, and other personalities. In 1557, Myślenice came under the jurisdiction of Kraków castellans, who were much more concerned with their city. The town began to decline, and it was destroyed in the deluge. In 1772 (see Partitions of Poland), Myślenice was annexed by Austria, and until 1918, it belonged to the province of Galicia. After World War I, the town became part of the Second Polish Republic.