In 1828, the Austrians sold the Szczawnica goods to Postmaster Jan Podhajecki, who bought them with the money of Józefina and Stefan Szalay, and in 1834, formally handed over Szczawnica to them. In 1839, Józef Szalay took it over from his parents and established a health resort. He built the first spa buildings of his own design, arranged the Górny Park, covered the Szczawny Potok bed under the Dietl Square and advertised the spa, which he donated to the Academy of Learning in Krakow in 1876. In 1909, the spa was bought by Count Adam Stadnicki, the rapid development of the town took place in the 1960s.The buildings in the upper, spa part of the city are located in the Szczawny Potok valley, here you can see villas and guesthouses from the 19th century in Swiss-Tyrolean style. These are wooden two- or three-story houses, with porches, stoops and turrets, and rich carved decorations. The most beautiful of them, preserved without major changes since the mid-nineteenth century, are located near Dietla Square and at Jana Wiktora Street, which depart from it. The oldest building in the spa is the Szalay Manor from 1839, and among the villas there are: Szwajcarka, Holenderka, Pałac, Brat, Siostra and Dworzec Gościnny. Apart from that: Alma, Danusia, Limba, Marta, Palma, Pod Bogarodzicą, Stara Kancelaria, Szalay and Wanda. In the spa Pump Room from 1863 there is a café and gallery, the Świerki Spa from 1860 is closed, delighting with their decorations are Waleryi Spa and Magdalena Spa.

In the area, it is worth visiting the villages located in the valleys of Grajcarek, Jaworki and Szlachtowa, formerly inhabited by the Szlachtowski Rusyns, of which brick churches have remained. And the protected gorges of Biała Woda and Homole are charming walking places.