Trip Planner: Europe / Switzerland / Swiss Alps / Canton of Valais / Brig / Historic Sites / Stockalper Palace

Stockalper Palace, Brig

4.2

#4 of 11 in Historic Sites in Canton of Valais

Castle Tourist Spot

The Stockalper Palace is a castle in Brig-Glis, Switzerland. It was built between 1658 and 1678 by Kaspar Stockalper, a silk merchant of Brig. The Stockalper Palace was the largest private construction in Switzerland at the time. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.HistoryThe first building on the site is known as the Stockalper House, which was built in 1532 by Peter Stockalper. Over the following century it was expanded toward the north, but it remained generally unchanged until the rise of Kaspar Stockalper. Kaspar Stockalper was born to a wealthy family in Brig on 14 July 1609. After studying at the university in Freiburg im Breisgau from 1627 to 1629, he returned to Brig and began building an extensive trading empire. By 1647 he had the local salt monopoly and built a road over the Simplon pass which gave him a monopoly on trade over this pass. Between 1651-59 he built a canal from Vouvry to Collombey which expanded his trading empire. At the peak of his power, Kaspar employed around 5,000 people (at that time Brig only had about 900 residents).Between 1630 and 1640 Kaspar expanded the Stockalper House toward the south with a great hall, chapel and other construction. The great hall was decorated with a coat of arms in 1653. The chapel altar is black with silver reliefs depicting the Adoration of the Magi and the Coronation of the Virgin, both of which were the work of Samuel Hornung of Augsburg in 1655. A two-story covered arcade leads from the Stockalper House to the much larger Palace.

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Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

95 reviews

mppalmer

This is an old building or what's left of it, worth a quick glance if you are in the area, happened to be close to the hotel we were staying so walked though it daily, stopped and saw it one evening. more »
mombatDallas

This was an unexpected surprise for me. I had already spent a couple of hours walking around the main drag from the train station through the central plaza, browsing store windows and checking out res... more »
Francesco M

The building itself is quite charming but I was mostly interested by the history behind it. It is worth visiting if you plan to go through the Simplon Pass as it is part of its history. more »

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