The first written record of Podolínec, as part of Polish-ruled Sącz Land, dates from 1236 and is included in the Kraków Bishop complaint to the Pope regarding the Hungarian clergy, illegally collecting taxes from the local church, which belonged to the Diocese of Kraków.

In 1244 Bolesław V the Chaste, the Duke of Sandomierz-Kraków land granted a location permit to a knight from Kraków, called Henryk.

In April 1412, King Sigismund of Luxembourg promoted Podolínec to the status of a free royal town, but later that year it was granted back to Poland as a result of the Treaty of Lubowla and it remained Polish until 1772.

It was part of the "Province of 16 Spiš towns" in the 18th and 19th centuries, but its privileges were gradually reduced and in the end it was incorporated into Szepes County.

[6] The town lies near the Poprad River, in the Spiš region, near the Spišská Magura range.