Love padlocks
Encyclopedia
Love padlocks are a custom by which padlock
s are affixed to a fence, gate, bridge or similar public fixture by sweetheart
s to symbolize their everlasting love.
, the ritual of affixing love padlocks to the bridge Ponte Milvio
can be attributed to the book I Want You by Italian author Federico Moccia
, who later made it into the film-adaptation Ho voglia di te.
Similarly, an attribution for the bridge Most Ljubavi
(lit. the Bridge of Love—now named after the love padlocks) in Serbia exists, where they can be traced to even before World War I
. A local schoolmistress named Nada, who was from Vrnjačka Banja, fell in love with a Serbia
n officer named Relja. After they committed to each other Relja went to war in Greece
where he fell in love with a local woman from Corfu
. As a consequence, Relja and Nada broke up their engagement. Nada never recovered from that devastating blow, and after some time she died as a result of her unfortunate love. As young girls from Vrnjačka Banja
wanted to protect their own loves, they started writing down their names, together with the names of their loved ones, on padlock
s and affixing them to the railings of the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet.
Padlock
Padlocks are portable locks used to protect against theft, vandalism, sabotage, unauthorized use, and harm. They are designed to protect against some degree of forced and surreptitious entry.- History :...
s are affixed to a fence, gate, bridge or similar public fixture by sweetheart
Sweetheart
Sweetheart can be:*The term of endearment applied to a person's significant other**Childhood sweetheart*Forgetful of bringing drinks to fellow coworkers*Sweetheart , recorded by Rainy Davis and re-recorded by Mariah Carey and Jermaine Dupri...
s to symbolize their everlasting love.
History
Love padlocks have existed for quite some time, though there are no certain sources for their origin. In Europe, love padlocks started appearing in the early 2000s. The reasons love padlocks started to appear vary between locations, and in many instances are unsourced. However, in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, the ritual of affixing love padlocks to the bridge Ponte Milvio
Ponte Milvio
The Milvian Bridge is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of Milvian Bridge....
can be attributed to the book I Want You by Italian author Federico Moccia
Federico Moccia
Federico Moccia is an Italian writer, screenwriter and film director. His father Giuseppe Moccia was also a screenwriter and director...
, who later made it into the film-adaptation Ho voglia di te.
Similarly, an attribution for the bridge Most Ljubavi
Most Ljubavi
Most Ljubavi, , is a pedestrian bridge in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia. It is known for the numerous love padlocks that were left there by couples as sign of their everlasting love. It is one of the famous landmarks of Vrnjačka Banja, and it is the best known among the town's 15 bridges.-History:History...
(lit. the Bridge of Love—now named after the love padlocks) in Serbia exists, where they can be traced to even before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. A local schoolmistress named Nada, who was from Vrnjačka Banja, fell in love with a Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n officer named Relja. After they committed to each other Relja went to war in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
where he fell in love with a local woman from Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
. As a consequence, Relja and Nada broke up their engagement. Nada never recovered from that devastating blow, and after some time she died as a result of her unfortunate love. As young girls from Vrnjačka Banja
Vrnjacka Banja
Vrnjačka Banja is a town, municipality, and a resort, mineral spa located in Raška District of Serbia. It contains the world's only hot spring with a temperature measuring exactly that of the human body ....
wanted to protect their own loves, they started writing down their names, together with the names of their loved ones, on padlock
Padlock
Padlocks are portable locks used to protect against theft, vandalism, sabotage, unauthorized use, and harm. They are designed to protect against some degree of forced and surreptitious entry.- History :...
s and affixing them to the railings of the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet.
Controversies
In several countries the local authorities and owners of various landmarks have expressed concern and even tried to have the padlocks removed:- In ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Town Hall in May 2010 expressed concern over the growing number of love-locks on the Pont des ArtsPont des ArtsThe Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the Seine River. It links the Institut de France and the central square of the palais du Louvre, .-History:Between 1802 and 1804, a nine-arch metallic bridge for pedestrians was constructed at the location of...
, Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-SenghorPasserelle Léopold-Sédar-SenghorThe passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, formerly known as passerelle Solférino , is a footbridge over the River Seine in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris...
and the Pont de l'ArchevêchéPont de l'ArchevêchéThe Pont de l'Archevêché is a bridge crossing the Seine river in Paris, France.-Location:The bridge links the 4th Arrondissement, at the Île de la Cité, to the 5th Arrondissement, between the quai de Montebello and the quai de la Tournelle.- History :The Pont de l'Archevêché is the narrowest...
bridges, stating: "they raise problems for the preservation of our architectural heritage". Lovelocks disappeared suddenly in 2010, but the Administration denied responsibility. The Pont de l'ArchevêchéPont de l'ArchevêchéThe Pont de l'Archevêché is a bridge crossing the Seine river in Paris, France.-Location:The bridge links the 4th Arrondissement, at the Île de la Cité, to the 5th Arrondissement, between the quai de Montebello and the quai de la Tournelle.- History :The Pont de l'Archevêché is the narrowest...
saw the return of those love-locks immediately. - Deutsche BahnDeutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
threatened to have the locks removed from the Hohenzollern Bridge in CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. Deutsche Bahn is the bridge's operator, but in the end relented in the face of public opposition. - In CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
love padlocks appearing along the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet on Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, has caused some diversion as the locks are considered a distraction from nature by some. - In FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy, 5,500 love padlocks affixed to the Ponte VecchioPonte VecchioThe Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers and souvenir sellers...
bridge were removed by the city council. According to the council the padlocks pose both an aesthetic problem as well as scratch and dent the metal of the bridge.
Legends and superstitions connected to love padlocks
On some locations the padlocks have been given special attributed of an almost legendary or superstitious character:- In FengyuanFengyuanFengyuan is located in north-central Taichung in Taiwan on the south bank of the Dajia River.-History:Before the arrival of the Han Chinese, the area of Fengyuan city was inhabited by the Taiwanese aborigines...
, TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
love padlocks affixed to an overpass at the city's train station are often affixed in pairs. These locks are known as "wish locks" and local legend holds that the magnetic field generated by trains passing underneath will cause energy to accumulate in the locks and fulfill the wishes. - On a fountain in MontevideoMontevideoMontevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
in UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, a plaque is affixed to the front of the fountain that provides an explanation in both EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. The English version of the text reads, "The legend of this young fountain tells us that if a lock with the initials of two people in love is placed in it, they will return together to the fountain and their love will be forever locked."