Brig - Baroque palace

(Local Name: Stockalperschloss) The most notable building in Brig is the Stockalperschloss, the finest Baroque palace in Switzerland, which the town bought from the Stockalper family in 1948. Since then it has been thoroughly renovated and restored by a trust, with financial assistance from the Federal government, the canton and the town. This imposing structure, dominated by three square gabled towers, was built by the great Valais merchant Prince Kaspar Jodok Stockalper von Thurm (1609-91), who had occupied all the leading positions in the land. The palace, built between 1658 and 1678, pointed the way towards a great flowering of the baroque in Valais. It now houses, in addition to the family library of the "King of the Simplon" and 12,000 documents, the archives of the Upper Valais Historical Society, the Valais Institute (Walser-Institut) and the Museum of the Upper Valais (May-October). Also here are the Matza and Jadok galleries which both have special exhibitions.