The ritual is beautifully simple
The lock represents an unbreakable bond, while throwing the key into flowing water ensures that the lock can never be opened, symbolizing eternal and everlasting love.
Why Bridges? Bridges naturally represent connection, crossing over boundaries, and linking two distinct sides together. The presence of water underneath provides a permanent "vault" for the discarded keys.
Locks are a problem somewhere
A single brass lock doesn't weigh much, but half a million of them weigh several tons.
In Paris on the Pont des Arts, the weight of the locks actually caused a section of the bridge railing to collapse into the Seine River in 2014. Fearing a disaster, the city completely removed over one million locks (weighing roughly 45 tons) and replaced the mesh railings with smooth glass panels so locks can no longer be attached.
Where Did It Begin?
While many people think the trend started in Paris during the 2000s, the true history goes back much further—to a melancholy tale from World War I in a small Serbian spa town called Vrnjačka Banja.
The story goes like this: The Origin: Most Ljubavi (Serbia)
c. 1914
A local schoolmistress named Nada fell in love with a Serbian officer named Relja. Relja went off to war in Greece, where he fell in love with a local woman and never returned.
Nada died of a broken heart. To protect their own romances, local young women began writing their names on padlocks and chaining them to the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet—the Most Ljubavi (Bridge of Love)
Love locks are a fascinating global phenomenon
The ritual is beautifully simple: a couple writes their names or initials on a padlock, fastens it to a bridge railing, and throws the key into the river below.
This article has pictures of the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne and the Butchers’ Bridge in Ljubljana.
Where Else Are They Found?
N Seoul Tower (Seoul, South Korea): Massive artificial “trees” and fences on the roof terrace are designed specifically to hold millions of colorful locks, overlooking the entire city.
Brooklyn Bridge (New York, USA): Walkers frequently add locks to the pedestrian walkway support structures, though city workers remove them regularly.
Ponte Milvio (Rome, Italy): The birthplace of the modern Italian craze.