The tradition of love locks has echoed across nations for centuries. The padlocks have accumulated in their gold and colourful masses around the world on different public fixtures, engraved with names and anecdotes symbolising years of love stories, old and new. 

As a hopeless romantic, I find the ritualistic element of the locks charming: a tradition of symbolising unbreakable love that transcends borders – bridges adorned with the locks can be found in Seoul, Ljubljana and Cologne, to name a few. 

However, they have often sparked debate over issues such as conservation, cultural heritage, and tourism. Different countries address these concerns in various ways, with some eager to preserve the tokens of love. 

The history of love locks is believed to have originated from a tragic love story on the Most Ljubavi “Bridge of Love” in Serbia during 1914. In the small town Vrnjacka Banja, a schoolteacher named Nada, and an army officer named Relja vowed their undying love to one another on the bridge, one of their frequent meeting spots. Relja inevitably went off to fight in the war, finding a new lover whilst battling the Germans in Greece. Nada was left betrayed and grief stricken. Inconsolable, she eventually jumped from the Most Ljubavi. This enticed many women to physically enshrine their relationships – by fixing the locks to the bridge and throwing their keys in the river, they hoped to ensure that a similar fate would not be inflicted upon them and their lovers. 

The tradition became widespread – by late 2008, couples would add locks to the Pont des Arts love lock bridge in Paris. This is now illegal, as by 2014, concerns grew in the “City of Love” over potential damage caused by the weight of over 700,000 locks on the bridge’s structure – it eventually led to part of the bridge collapsing. A fitting testament the unbearable weight of love. 

By 2022, all the padlocks were permanently removed due to safety and the degradation of the bridges’ heritage. I can’t help but feel the loss of the sentimental charm it brought to a city like Paris. However, opinions remain divided, especially regarding its status as a tourist trap – particularly when street vendors are contributing to the damage by actively promoting and selling locks in their own cities. 

In 2012, Finnish artists Kaija Papu and Antti Pussinen took a meaningful approach in removing locks from Tampere’s Patosilta Bridge in Finland. To create an art project that signified a unified love, they melted the locks to create a sculpture and symbolised how “love should not be shackled, but freed”. What a lovely idea that preserves the gesture of love, even if some weren’t too pleased that their symbols of love were melted into a big grey lump. 

Photo credit: Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash