Thousands of Love Locks on Hohenzollernbruecke Bridge, Germany

Sep 14, 2011 6 comments

Thousands upon thousands of locked padlocks can be seen affixed to the fence across the unpronounceable Hohenzollernbruecke bridge in Cologne, Germany. The phenomenon called Love Locks (or Love Padlocks), which many believe to have originated from Italy, is a new kind of vandalism where lovebirds lock padlocks bearing their names against fences, gate, bridge or similar public place to symbolize their everlasting love.

According to Wikipedia, 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. In Rome, 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.

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Photo: Dennis Grombkowski/GETTY IMAGES

A similar bridge in Serbia exist, where the practice of love locks can be traced to before World War I. The story goes as that there was a local schoolmistress named Nada, from Vrnjačka Banja, who 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 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 padlocks and affixing them to the railings of the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet.

Love Locks are frowned upon by the local authorities and owners of various landmarks. Some years ago, Deutsche Bahn, the Hohenzollernbruecke bridge operator, threatened to have the locks removed from the bridge but in the end relented in the face of public opposition.

Love locks are a growing phenomenon in cities across Europe. They have even appeared along the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island in Canada.

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Photo: Dennis Grombkowski/GETTY IMAGES

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Photo: Dennis Grombkowski/GETTY IMAGES

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Photo: Dennis Grombkowski/GETTY IMAGES

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Photo: Dennis Grombkowski/GETTY IMAGES

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Photo credit

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Photo credit

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Photo: Dennis Grombkowski/GETTY IMAGES

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Photo: Dennis Grombkowski/GETTY IMAGES

Comments

  1. This is one of the most amazing Love Padlock sites in the world, truly remarkable! I hope to get the opportunity to lock a LoveLock there one day! http://www.lovelocksuk.com

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  2. It's really outstanding love padlocks post. Nicely done. And, I love the photo. :) Thanks for such love Padlocks info giveaway!

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  3. i would so like to see this, omg how beautiful can on thing get, i understand there just padlocks but its the story behind it and its tradition so i think its phenominal :D

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  4. In Paris, the lock are set on the "Pont des Arts" which is a wonderfull small bridge in a romantic location. But the weight of all the thousands and thousands of locks could damage the bridge if exeeding the capacity of the bridge (lock are very massive). So, periodically the city of Paris "reset" the bridge by removing all the lock... Some would say, that as such, it would not be possible for any lovers to unlock their oath .... Paris spirit ;-)

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  5. It's tacky vandalism, my partner and I despise the practice.

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  6. There was an incident June 2014 where thousands of "locks of love" attached to The Pont des Arts in Paris caused part of the railing to collapse, forcing an evacuation. Too much of a good thing...

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