Between 1890 and 1895, a narrow gauge railroad was built to Nowy Łupków and in 1904 extended to Kalnica. In the interbellum, Cisna was one of the principal villages in the Bieszczady and was a well-known place to spend a holiday, growing to 60,000 inhabitants.
The Second World War destroyed almost all of the village. Afterwards, between 1945 and 1947, fighting continued in the area between Polish and Soviet armies and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The village was burned in 1946 and all villagers were forcibly deported to the USSR. Some people were deported from Cisna on 29 April 1947 (Operation Vistula) to the Gdańsk area of Poland.
