At an auction in the Swiss city of Basel, a collector has paid 332,000 euros for a letter by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. That was more than double the price set by the auction house.

The letter was written in 1823, four years before the composer's death. In it, he designated his nephew Karl as his heir.

Also on sale at the auction were a letter from the Austrian writer Franz Kafka, and a fragment of a letter from the 16th century theologian Martin Luther. They fetched 83,000 and 50,000 euros respectively.

Stieler's portrait of Beethoven from Wikimedia Commons