new tower in the 13th Century, which was demolished in 1970.
It is likely that the city was founded by the Bishop of Sion. In the 14th Century, Brig was first mentioned as a town. It grew in importance and in 1518 became the capital of theZenden (a term for a district in Valais) of Brig. Together with the capital, it became the seat of the district court. The town hall is first mentioned in 1618. Legal records from 1576-1631 contain provisions relating to community organization, trade and market regulations, criminal and luxury taxes. The municipality was headed by two mayors and a council of six. The city wall also served as a flood wall to help protect the town from the Saltina, which often flooded, most recently in 1920 and 1993. The Rhone river caused floods in 1469, 1506, 1640, 1752, 1775, 1868 and 1920. In 1755 and again in 1855 an earthquake damaged the city. The plague decimated the population in 1465, 1475, 1485 and 1575. In 1799 French troops pillaged the city, burned the archives and inflicted great damage.
During the early modern era Brig became increasingly wealthy from trade over the Alpine passes. Starting in the middle of the 13th Century, it was a storage, transshipment and customs station for transportation over the Simplon Pass. The wealth permitted several large and ornate buildings to be built in town. The Renaissance tower of the Provincial Governor Kaspar Metz Elten was built in 1526. Then, in 1658-78, Kaspar Jodok Stockalper built a castle with three towers, and arcaded courtyard and a park. This castle, the Stockalper schloss, dominates the skyline. The early modern city also featured the old Stockalper house (ca. 1533), the Salzhof (16th century, demolished 1967) which served as a transshipment and storage point, the patrician houses of Wegener (17th century), Mannhaft (1709) and Fernanda de Stockalper (1727). Outside the city, in 1677, Kaspar Jodok Stockalper built the Matteni manor house for Georg Christoph Mannhaft
