Brig | Stockalper Palace – King of the Alps

Brig is a small town in the south of Switzerland, in the canton of Valais between the Bernese and Valais Alps. The Simplon Pass is near Brig.
 

Brig is situated in a long valley running from north to south and connects alpine passes such as the Furka Pass, Nufenen Pass, Simplon Pass with the beginning of the French alpine passes such as the Col de la Forclaz – but also with alpine passes such as the Little and Great St. Bernhard.

Brig is an old town and was already important in the Middle Ages. 
 

But it was a man from Brig who helped the town to achieve international recognition: Kaspar Stockalper, known as the King of the Alps.

Kaspar Stockalper came from a respected family that had their home in the nearby Simplon Pass. After studying abroad, Stockalper returned to Brig at the age of around 20. The 30-year war was raging in Europe. As someone who had grown up on the Simplon Pass, Stockalper quickly recognised the strategic importance of this alpine pass. After all, the alpine pass connected royal houses from the south, such as Savoy, Piedmont, Milan and others, with the Swiss Confederates and France.
 

And so Kaspar Stockalper secured the trading rights over the alpine pass. When he was then also able and allowed to bring the wife of the Prince of Savoy and four children to safety over the Simplon Pass with 200 men, he had the attention of Europe at that time.
 

Subsequently, Stockalper amassed an immense fortune and was even raised to the nobility. He became so rich that he was called the ‘King of the Alps’. To flaunt his wealth, Kaspar Stockalper had the Stockalper Castle built. Characteristically, the castle has three towers, dedicated to the three saints from the Orient.
 

Unfortunately, Kaspar Stockalper did not always act in accordance with the rules, which proved to be his undoing in later years. At one point, almost all the representatives of the Valais administration were deeply in debt to him, so they jointly initiated proceedings against him. He lost all his assets except for his castle.

In 1975, the last male descendant of Stockalper died. Since then, the castle has been a foundation and is used for events, among other things.