Munich  - The city of Munich is hoping for a further boost to its status as a capital of culture with the opening of the new Brandhorst musuem of art, city officials said Monday.

The Brandhorst Museum, named after the private collector who bestowed the new exhibits, is to display 180 top contemporary works of art when it opens on May 21.

The newly-built technicolor structure is located near the city's two established major galleries, the Alte Pinakothek with old masters and the Neue Pinakothek with 19th-century paintings.

The collection, which was donated to Bavaria in 1999 by millionaire art lover Udo Brandhurst, extends the next-door, 20th- century museum, Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne.

Wolfgang Heubisch, Bavaria's minister of culture, predicted Monday that lovers of contemporary art would beat a pathway to Munich, thanks to its superb collections. He said more museums were planned.

Cy Twombly is the principal artist whose works are on display at the Brandhorst. Other works on show are Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke. The entire collection comprises 700 works, but only a quarter of them are to be displayed at once.

Brandhorst and his wife Anette collected the paintings, sculptures and art videos as a hobby. He gave away the 100-million-euro (135-million-dollar) collection after she died, on condition that Bavaria build a fitting home for it.

The ultra-modern, 48-million-euro building has a facade made of 36,000 multi-coloured, glazed bricks, designed by the Sauerbruch Hutton firm of Berlin, with the intention of letting in as much daylight as possible while keeping out street noise.

Internet: www. museum-brandhorst. de(dpa)