The name Brig is derived from
Briva, or "bridge". Its older houses are very Italian in appearance, while its most prominent buildings (
Stockalper Palace, former Jesuits' college and Ursuline convent) all date from the 17th century, and are due to the generosity of a single member of the local Stockalper family, the
baron Kaspar Stockalper. The prosperity of Brig is bound up with the
Simplon Pass, so that it gradually supplanted the more ancient village of
Naters opposite, becoming a separate parish (the church is at Glis, a few minutes from the town) in 1517. Its medieval name was
Briga dives. The opening of the carriage road across the Simplon (1807) and of the tunnel beneath the pass (1906), as well as the fact that above Brig is the steeper and less fertile portion of the Upper Valais (then much frequented by tourists), greatly increased the importance and size of the town. The De Briga family is first mentioned in 1215. The family was probably a branch of the Mangoldi line which was first mentioned in 1181 and is probably identical to the De Curia (im Hof) family which appeared between 1308 and 1335. The family seat was the
Höllenburg, which was a tower above Brig. By the 17th century, the tower had been demolished. It is likely that the city was founded by the
Bishop of Sion, when they built a tower and curtain wall in the 12th century. The original tower was replaced with a new tower in the 13th century, which was demolished in 1970. Until 1642, Glis belonged to the parish of Naters but had been relatively independent in religious matters since the 12th–13th century. The Church of Our Lady on the Glisacker has been a pilgrimage centre of the Upper Valais since the 14th century. Glis was raised to an independent parish in 1642. At that time, the parish included Brig, Brigerbad, Ried-Brig, Termen, Gamsen and Eggerberg. Excavations in and around the church in 1984 discovered an early Christian
aisleless church from around 500. The excavations also discovered a baptistery and side rooms and parts of four other churches. The present church, which combines elements of both the Renaissance and the late Gothic period, owes its appearance to Prismell master builders Peter and Christian Bodmer. In the mid-17th century, they completed the plans drawn up in 1519 by Ulrich Ruffiner. After the Second World War, Glis developed from a farming village into a residential area for Brig. In the merger with Brig, Glis brought a large amount of land and a large industrial company, the explosives factory
Société suisse des explosifs which was founded in Gamsen in 1894.
Brigerbad Very little is known about the early history of this small village located between the Rhone and the far north side of the valley. There are two buildings in the village that are from the Middle Ages: the tower of
Junker von Baden, which may have been built in the 13th century, and the so-called bishops barn, which may date from the 15th century. Brigerbad was always part of the parish of Glis, though they did build a chapel in 1721. The village began to develop local government and law in the 16th and 17th century and the first statutes were written in 1671. The floods of the Rhone, maintenance of Gamsner bridge (first mentioned in 1395) and the reclamation of the Eyen were commonplace activities from the 13th century until the Rhone Correction in 1873–82. Brigerbad was known for its hot springs. The village's name literally means "Brig's baths." They were discovered in 1471 by Anton Walker and flourished in the 16th century under Peter Owlig. The thermal hot spring baths began to decay in the 17th century, but were rebuilt in 1934–35 and again in 1956–60. ==Geography==