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, who wrote part of his "Life of an Honest Man" during his stay there; King Władysław II Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga; 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. On 22 January 1945, Myślenice was liberated by the troops of 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. Between 1975-1998 the city was part of the Kraków Voivodeship.