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.
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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