It's amazing just how many awards there are in this world.
I never knew there was such a thing as an Alpine Town of the Year, but Brig seems to have won the big prize this year.
Probably the main attraction is the lavish Baroque palace known as Stockalper Castle, the largest private 17th Century building in Switzerland. Again, that seems like a very tightly defined title, but it, and its gardens, is certainly worth a look.
It also shows just how wealthy merchants could be, Kaspar von Stockalper must have made or bob or two in his time.
A relatively new addition to Brig's list of attractions is the Museum of the Papal Guards. This covers the history of the Swiss Guards, who to this day still patrol the Vatican in Rome.
Brig is one of those "crossroads of Europe" towns. Celts, Romans, Alemannic tribes all came through and settled.
The city itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and with the Matterhorn (and of course the ski resorts of Zermatt and Saas Fee) close by, perhaps it wasnt an unusual choice for the title.
Brig Tourismus
CH-3900 Brig
+41 (0)27 921 60 30
photo: the phantom skier
