Żywiec is a town on the River Soła in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants. It is situated within the Silesian Voivodeship, near the Żywiec Lake and Żywiec Landscape Park, one of the eight protected areas in the voivodeship. Historically, the town has been part of the Lesser Poland region and is the capital of the Żywiecczyzna region, which is ethnically part of the Goral Lands. The 551231 Żywiec planetoid is named after the town.