Over five years, Munich-based photographer Michael von Hassel (born 1978) documented all 36 stadiums across Germany's first and second football divisions—capturing them in his distinctive style: empty, nocturnal, yet luminously alive. The result is a striking new vision of spaces intimately familiar to millions who flock to these arenas weekend after weekend. Each photograph represents an intricate fusion of approximately 90 individual images, meticulously composed through a demanding production process. The preparation phase alone required extensive coordination with sports industry leadership, often leaving von Hassel waiting hours for the precise moment. Some stadiums granted him exclusive access and special lighting; others he captured before Sunday evening matches or after, when crowds had completely dispersed. The trade-off demanded painstaking retouching—removing every trace of debris left behind, down to the smallest cigarette stub, to preserve the pristine clarity of each image. Developed in collaboration with the German Football Museum, "Cathedrals" debuts at the Anna Laudel Gallery in Düsseldorf from June 13 to July 20, 2024, as part of the Euro 2024 celebrations.

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