A love lock or love padlock is a padlock which sweethearts lock to a bridge, fence, gate, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts’ names or initials are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolize unbreakable love. Because of an increase in the number of those who do this, they are now mostly treated by authorities as litter or vandalism, because there is some cost to their removal. However, there are authorities who embrace them, and who use them as fundraising projects or tourism attractions.
How It Started
The history of love padlocks dates back at least 100 years to Serbia where it is believed the practice started with a bridge called Most Ljubavi – meaning the Bridge of Love. It is said that a local schoolmistress named Nada, fell in love with a Serbian officer named Relja. After they committed to each other, Relja went to war in Greece where he fell in love with another woman, which resulted to Relja and Nada breaking off their engagement.
Nada never recovered from that devastating blow, and after some time she died due to heartbreak from her unfortunate love. Young women from her town, who knew of her sad story wanted to protect their own loves, so they started writing down their names, with the names of their loved ones on padlocks and affixing them to the railings of the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet.
There are lots of places in the world where this practice is carried out, but the most famous of them are the Pont des Arts, Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, and the Pont de l’Archevêché bridges in Paris, France.
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