Scheuber International News

Konrad Scheuber was born in 1481 at Altsellerberg, Switzerland. He was the son of Hensli Scheuber and Dorothea von Flue. He was also the grandson of St. Nicholas of Flue. An old document states that Konrad was with his mother, Dorothea at the death of his grandfather, Nicholas of Flue. This left a lasting impression on the six year old child.
Konrad fought in many battles as a soldier. In the summer of 1502, he participated in the Bellenzer campaign. In 1512, he fought with the papal troops against the French King Ludwig Xll in a large war at Pavia. He also fought in battles at Novara 1513 and Marignano 1515. In the first and second Kappeler wars he was a captain of the Nidwalden 100 man lance column.
At the time of the battle of Marignano, the Swiss had the most powerful army in Europe. They made a surprise attack on the French with pikes (an 18 foot wooden shaft with a 3 foot iron point). When the pike points were lowered few if any armored knights could make headway against such a prickly "hedgehog". But the enemy had pikes too, and rallied to give the Swiss a taste of their own spiky medicine. The two sides collided in a jumble of pikes, transforming the contest into a brutal and bloody tug of war. The Swiss agreed to spare no Frenchman but the king. The battle see-sawed back and forth. Finally the Swiss were no match for the French canons and the Venetian allies of the French had arrived with 12,000 fresh men. The invincible Swiss had been defeated. Vanquished by a combination of hard fighting, artillery and just plain good luck-many people could scarcely believe the terrors of Europe had been destroyed. But there, on the grisly battlefield, was the proof-between 16,000 and 17,000 corpses littered the ground under a broiling sun, and the wounded seemed numberless. Perhaps 5,000 had fallen on the French side. The remainder, more than 10,000, were Swiss.
About the year, 1503 Konrad Scheuber married Verena Burach from Schwandi in Obwalden, Switzerland. She must have died at an early age. In 1512 or 1516 Konrad had a second marriage with Margaretha Rot of Alpnach, Switzerland. They had two daughters, Dorothea and Christina.
For many years Konrad Scheuber stood as a well respected farmer and fearless warrior to the people. From the years 1528 to 1540 he was a judge and from 1543 to 1544 he was "Landamann", (governor), of Nidwalden.
In the fall of 1544 wearing a grey cowl and carrying a staff and rosary in his hand, he left to become a hermit, just as his grandfather did. He became known as "Brother Scheuber". He was visited by many pilgrims seeking advice. Konrad slept very little and ate no meat or eggs only fruits and vegetables. Due to becoming weak in his old age he allowed himself to occasionally have a drink of wine. He did this until his death
On March 5, 1559, Brother Konrad Scheuber died. His body was buried in the Scheuber cemetery plot. In 1602, his remains were moved to a side chapel at the parish church in Wolfenschiessen. In 1777, Brother Scheuber's remains were moved again to the new parish church. They were buried under the choir stairway.
Although, he was never officially beatified by the church, he is very well-known and revered in the Swiss Canton of Nidwalden. In times of need, there were also some pilgrimages to his grave.