The healing properties of Szczawnica springs were already thoroughly well appreciated in the early 19th century. In 1810, the first water analysis was carried out. The ‘Józefina’ spring was leased from the Austrian government by the highlander Józef Zachwieja, who bottled the water and sold it, and in 1820 sold the spring to Jan Kutschera. The new owner built a small pavilion above the spring with a well, benches, and two houses for patients. In 1822, a landslide exposed two springs. The springs and the buildings were purchased in 1828 by Józefina and Stefan Szalay, who named the springs after themselves and built a columned arbour on the pavilion site between 1839 and 1840. Józef Szalay built a two-storey villa of his own design on the site in 1863 and decorated it with intricate woodcarving. In the 1970s, a pump was installed in what today is called – unsurprisingly – the pump room. In 1897, paintings with the patron saints of miners and springs – Saints Kinga and Barbara – appeared on the façade.

Between 1931 and 1934, the pump room was modernised by Adam Stadnicki. The ‘Józefina’ spring had been closed since the 1970s.The pump room was closed down in 1984, and the water was dispensed in the neighbouring Café Helenka, operating from 1857/58 on the site of the former Spacer Gallery between the ‘Nad Zdrojami’ House and the ‘Szwajcarka Górna’ Villa. Around 1960, the gallery was built, and a café opened in it.

Damaged by a fire in 2002, the villa was demolished in 2006. In 2008, the Mankowski family, heirs of Count Adam Stadnicki, who recovered the spa's estate and lands and worked to restore Szczawnica's status as the 'Queen of Polish Waters', rebuilt it in its original style and shape. Today, on the villa ground floor, there is a stylish pump room with six mineral springs, and on the first floor, there is a gallery where seasonal exhibitions are held.