The painting entitled "Standesamt und Altes Rathaus München" (Civil Registry Office and Old Town Hall of Munich) was bought by an anonymous bidder for 130,000 euros (about $161,000).

Auctioneer Kathrin Weidler of the Weidler Auction House in Nuremberg said this is one of about 2,000 works Hitler painted from about 1905 to1920 as a struggling young artist.

Hitler's hopes as a young man of becoming an artist were dashed by his repeated rejection by Vienna's Academy of Fine Arts.

The fetched sum sets a record for a Hitler painting. Before the auction, Weidler expected the painting to go for "anything from a few thousand to something around 50,000 euros."

The minimum bid had been set at 4,500 euros.

The sellers are an unidentified elderly pair of German sisters. Reportedly, they wish to donate 10 percent of the earnings to charity.

db/eg/jt (dpa,Reuters)