Bönigen has an interesting 750-year-old history; the first documented recording of the name Wernherus de Boningen dates back to 1239. The actual founder of the resort is, however, considered to have been Captain Christian Michel. The hospitality afforded King Frederick I of Württemberg on the occasion of the 2nd Unspunnen Festival in 1808, during which he visited the House on the Sand, is recorded in the annal as follows: «His Majesty visited all rooms as well as the cheese storehouse, and deigned to partake of Oberland country fare, consisting of both young and matured baked cheese and cherry brandy».

For centuries the rent for leased land was due on St.Andrews Day, 30th November. The agreed amount of money had to be handed over on this day. Many of the poorer families could hardly scrape together enough money to pay the annual rent, e.g. for farming rights, so friends and relatives would have to help out.
The memory of these hard times brought about the tradition known in Bönigen as ‘An-dresler’. In earlier times the children of poorer families went from house to house, either alone or in groups, begging for small gifts. They received such things as dried slices of apple or pear, prunes and walnuts and thanked the givers with a song or poem.
Nowadays the children dress up and go from house to house, where they sing a song or recite a poem. This tradition is only known in Bönigen.

The village was first mentioned in 1239 with reference to Wernher von Boningen, later this name was changed to Böningen and since the 19th century the official name has been Bönigen.
Originally an Alemannic settlement, Bönigen became a free imperial village under the supremacy of the Emperor. This explains the imperial eagle in the coat of arms and the ibex is the sign for the region of Interlaken.

At first the only means of transport were gondolas on the lake, horse-drawn carts and horseback. In the 1830’s Lake Brienz saw the arrival of the latest technical development – steam boats. The locals found this even more amazing than the arrival of the swans in 1776.

Bönigen continued to benefit from technical advances and could soon boast one of the first railway stations in the Bernese Oberland. On the 1st July 1874 the first double-decker train of the Bödeli railway left Därligen on Lake Thun for Bönigen on Lake Brienz. 95 years later – on 31st May 1969 – the last train left Bönigen. The railway was closed because it was no longer profitable and replaced by a bus service. The station and railway were subsequently demolished.