The County of Żywiec is situated in the south part of the Province of Silesia, directly along the border with Slovakia. The Żywiec Region consists of the town of Żywiec and the communes: Czernichów, Gilowice, Jeleśnia, Koszarawa, Łękawica , Lipowa , Łodygowica, Milówka, Radziechowy- Wieprz, Rajcza, Ślemień, Świnna , Ujsoły and Węgierska Górka. 
The picturesque area of Żywiec includes the Beskid Żywiecki and the Beskid Śląski as well as the rivers: the Soła and the Koszarawa. There are also two lakes: Żywiec Lake and Międzybrodzie Lake. The County of Żywiec neighbours other counties such as Cieszyn , Bielsko , Wadowice and Sucha Beskidzka. 
The seat of the town authorities is Żywiec, the location of which was based on the Magdeburg's law. The town was founded between 1260 and 1280 (according to some sources; as a result of fires consuming the town no original documents survived). The first preserved historical document on this subject comes from 1432 and it contains a record of the purchase of the Żywiec Region by Kazimierz, the Prince of Oświęcim. 
In the 15th century eight villages already existed: Żywiec, Zabłocie , Radziechowy , Wieprz, Cięcina, Lipowa, Pietrzykowice and Sporysz .
In 1467 King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk handed over the region to Count Piotr Komorowski and over 150 years the Komorowski family had the land under their rule. It was a period of dynamic development of the town and the surrounding villages as well as the guild organizations and the local economy . The Komorowski family built the most important buildings: the castle , the church and the belfry , existing until now. 

In the Żywiec Valley and in the other valleys with bigger streams, new farming villages came into being: Trzebinia, Świnna, Przyborów and Jeleśnia.

In 1624 Mikołaj Komorowski gave the region over to Queen Konstancja , the wife of King Zygmunt III Waza. In 1675 the land was bought by Jan Wielopolski , who later moved to Pieskowa Skała after winning the place back. 

As a result of the first partition of Poland in 1772, the County of Żywiec became a part of Galicia and it was subordinate to the Austrian administration with the general government in Lwów. It resulted in the abolition of the existing administrative units and forming a new organization of public administration. The whole area of former Oświęcim Duchy and Zator Duchy (where the Żywiec County belonged) was a part of the Zator County and later of the Kęty County which was in Wieliczka "Cyrkuł". In 1782 a new district ( called "cyrkuł") was formed in Myślenice, later the seat of which was moved to Wadowice in 1819.
In 1838 the Habsburg family bought property in Żywiec and they built the Habsburg palace in the vicinity of the Komorowski castle. Gradual development of forest and paper industry followed. Spinning factories as well as the factories processing the iron were built. In 1856 in the place of an old distillery, the archduke brewery was established. Until now Żywiec and the whole region has been famous for its brewery all over the world.

In 1854 during the next administrative reform the county system was created within the confines of bigger units - districts. Judicial counties were already operating since 1850. In the Żywiec Area, judicial districts were based in Milówka, Żywiec and Ślemień. In 1867 the country was divided into administrative counties. The county of Żywiec was created then, in which the judicial districts in Żywiec, Milówka and Ślemień were included. 

After the First World War Polish administrative authorities were operating within the boundaries that existed before the war. In 1920 the Kraków Province was reactivated and next years and reforms caused either widening or reducing the Żywiec Area.

After the outbreak of the Second World War the County of Żywiec was included in German Third Reich within the confines of the Katowice district. After the end of the Second World War the administrative division which existed in the mid-war period was brought back. In the mid-war period and after the war the land of Żywiec County was part of different administrative units.

In 1975 county system in Poland was eliminated and the province system was reorganized. Among others new Bielsko-Biała Province was created in which the Żywiec Area was included. Turbulent fate of this area as well as the location on the border of Poland and Slovakia influenced significantly culture, tradition, architecture and customs of the inhabitants of Żywiec.

In 1999 the division into counties was brought back and the County of Żywiec was reintroduced then. Despite historical and cultural tradition which connected it with Cracow, the County of Żywiec was included in the Province of Silesia.