Brig is first mentioned in 1215 as Briga. The first evidence of human habitation near Brig comes from a few Bronze Age objects, a bracelet and a dagger. The area remained inhabited through the Latène era with scattered Walser settlements. During the Roman era the Roman influence was strongest along the Roman road on the valley floor. The area remained settled during the Iron Age, Migration Period and Early Middle Ages.[4]
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 1308-35. 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.[4]