Its name refers either to Bonyha, a prince of the House of Árpád or to Bony meaning a boggy, wet place. It was given the rank of agricultural town by Emperor Joseph in 1782 and it became the centre of the region. Its economic development was important in the feudal system. It became famous for the special regional cattle of Bonyhád, the Enamel Factory (from 1909) and the Shoe Factory (from 1917). Today the small town has a population of 14.000 and it is the economic, cultural and administrative centre of the small region, a school town. Its sights include: the Roman Catholic Church, the Old Synagogue, the Calvinist Church, the Ermel-Vojnits sepulchral chapel, the Ladomány chapel, the Tabód chapel, Bonyhád-Börzsöny, the Perczel mansion with a Memorial Room, the Völgység Museum, the Museum of Firefighting, a Regional Room in the house of the Germans living in Hungary, Exhibition of the History of Enamelling, Imre Solymár Town Library, Mihály Vörösmarty Youth and Community Centre.