2015 Lock Up Love: A Tour of the World’s Top Ten Love Lock Bridges

Text / Compiled and reported by the editorial team of MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network

The new year begins amid dazzling fireworks. Along with excitement for work, friendships, and family, the hope for a meaningful romance grows even stronger. We all long for that sweetest, most wonderful partner to accompany us through life, to hold each other tightly, and to lock our bond at the most beautiful moment in a relationship with a love padlock—forever inseparable. This has given rise to countless love lock bridges that adorn the world’s landscapes and write romantic love stories.

● Paris
Starting in 2008 in France, no one knows exactly who began it, but people started hanging padlocks engraved with their names on both sides of the Pont des Arts, then throwing the keys into the river to pray for eternal love. It later became a must-do for tourists from around the world, and the bridge gradually earned the nickname “Love Bridge.” As time passed, the Seine River witnessed countless sweet romances, but the bridges over it also suffered under the weight of so many ‘locks.’ Recently, the Paris City Government launched an initiative to ‘save’ this century-old bridge by beginning to remove the ‘love locks.’
※[Update] 2015.10.15  

Starting June 1, 2015, to ensure the safety of historic monuments and pedestrians, the Paris City Government completely removed the padlocks symbolizing undying love from the Love Lock Bridge. From then on, this romantic bridge can only be seen in old photos and films.

 

● Italy

It is said that the tradition of love locks originated from an Italian novel published in 2006 titled "Love is So Childish." In the book, lovers hung “love locks” on the lampposts of Rome’s Ponte Milvio (the Old Bridge) and threw the keys into the river, praying to stay together forever.

● Guam’s Two Lovers Point The tradition of love locks at Two Lovers Point began with a tragic story. A couple, forbidden to be together by their families, chose to die together at the cliffside, hence the name Two Lovers Point. This legend is inscribed on a stone tablet at the site in multiple languages. With the vast ocean as witness, many couples come here to hang padlocks.