Love Locks

HI!

We're in Paris, and we've taking the pedestrian bridge, Pont des Arts, from Quai Voltaire where our apartment is located to the other side of the River Seine and the entrance to the Louvre. We noticed a whole side of the bridge covered from the top of the railing to the treads of the bridge covered by "love locks."

This isn't the first time we've seen these locks; we saw them in Salzburg on one of the foot bridges over the River Salzach.














While in Paris, we met a nice young American couple who stopped us and asked us to take their picture; they had just gotten married and were on the bridge to cement their live together by attaching a love lock and throwing the key into the River Seine.

Nice tradition!

At least from the lovers' view point. The City officials all over Europe have a different view. From Wikipedia .......

A love lock or love padlock is a padlock which sweethearts lock to a bridge, fence, gate, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts' names or initials are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolize unbreakable love.

In May 2010 the city of Paris expressed concern over the growing number of love-locks on the .. bridges, stating: "they raise problems for the preservation of our architectural heritage".

In Florence, Italy, 5,500 love padlocks affixed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge were removed by the city council ... because they both pose an aesthetic problem as well as scratch and dent the metal of the bridge.

In Dublin, Ireland, padlocks on the Ha'penny Bridge, River Liffey were taken down by Dublin City Council in early 2012. The padlocks could damage the protected structure .... The padlocks have been criticised for being an eyesore on public structures. They can also cause further damage when they have to be removed ...

In Las Vegas, a 1/2 scale model of the Eiffel Tower located at the Paris Hotel the famed Vegas Strip has inspired visitors to place lovers' locks on the walkway out to the elevators to the top of the tower. Visitors are told not to throw the key from the tower and locks sold in the lobby are opened and provided for a fee without a key to prevent this practice.

It looks to me like Love Locks will live on and prosper. So far, no city has banned the sale of Love Locks in stores throughout the city and if they did, lovers would just bring their own. Stay tuned for a list of bridges that fall down due to the weight of the locks!

Cheers!