Hitler artworks sell in Germany

A painting of Neuschwanstein Castle, a watercolor signed A Hitler. Photo / AFP

Pictures presumed to have been the work of a young Adolf Hitler have been sold at auction in Nuremberg for a total of €391,000 (NZD$642,670).

Fourteen watercolour paintings and drawings were put up for sale - the highest price was paid for a watercolour of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, which went to a buyer from China for 100,000 euros.

A still life picture of a bouquet of carnations changed hands for 73,000 euros.

All the offered works were sold in the auction - among them views of Vienna and Prague, and a female nude.

The works were dated between 1904 and 1922 - long before Adolf Hitler and the Nazis took power in Germany.

Hitler's artistic endeavours are widely considered to be of limited merit, but their sale - though controversial - continues to fetch thousands of euros at auction houses each year.

In 2014, a Hitler watercolour depicting the town hall of Munich allegedly fetched 130,000 euros after the same auction house sold it to an anonymous buyer from the Middle East.

Other interested parties were from Asia and the United States.

The works are allowed to be sold in Germany as long as there are no Nazi symbols depicted on them.

A reproduction shows the painting 'Kalkbrennerei' (lime kiln), a watercolor signed A Hitler in the Weidler auction house in Nuremberg, southern Germany. Photo / AFP

The signature reading 'A Hitler, 1909'. Photo / AFP

However, their sale is highly controversial as 80 per cent of the proceeds go to private sellers rather than a good cause.

The auction house, which said on Friday that any complaints about the planned auction should be addressed to the sellers, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper several days ago that of the 20 per cent commission it receives, a percentage will be given to charity.

- AAP