Love Padlocks Around the World and Its Controversy

If you are unfamiliar with love locks please go to this link and read up on them: Background Information on Love Locks and their meaning! 

The history of love padlocks dates back at least 100 years to a melancholy Serbian tale of World War I, with an attribution for the bridge Most Ljubavi (lit. the Bridge of Love) in spa town of Vrnjačka Banja.^[2] A local schoolmistress named Nada, who was from Vrnjačka Banja, 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 off their engagement. Nada never recovered from that devastating blow, and after some time she died due to heartbreak from her unfortunate love. As young women from Vrnjačka Banja wanted to protect their own loves, they started writing down their names, 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.^[3][4]In rest of Europe, love padlocks started appearing in the early 2000s.^[5] The reasons love padlocks started to appear vary between locations and in many instances are unclear. However, in Rome, the ritual of affixing love padlocks to the bridge Ponte Milvio can be attributed to the 2006 book I Want You by Italian author Federico Moccia, who made a film adaptation in 2007.^[6][7]

When I first became aware of love locks was when I saw them in some music videos I came across on youtube, I found the idea of attaching locks to doors, bridges and other places to be quite creative and I always wondered why and how it started. I wasn't aware it was such a huge tradition nor had such a heartbreaking history as the quoted section above. However, I came across this topic again yesterday while I was watching a new music video and just had to find out. Because the music video was so sweet and sad at the same time, I had to know the whole story of these locks.

The historical significance behind love locks is tear jerking and how generations after them chose to express and turn it into a bigger tradition is even more inspiring and notable to me. I am so happy to see so many people believe that their love is unbreakable. Who wants their love to be breakable right? Everyone wishes for their love to last for a long time even if they died the lock they left on a bridge will remain.

I believe these locks signify that there is love that does not break in the world and to have faith that you will one day find an unbreakable love yourself. I wish to visit one of these locations someday and read all the names on each lock and dates and see if there is one that is at least decades old. That would be really sweet to see. I hope one day I can go there with my other half and attach our own lock to the collection of happy couples in the world. I do wonder if it's was a heat of a moment decision to put a lock on after a first date or if they knew they wanted to spend their lives with this person for a lifetime.

However, the sad thing is the government sees these kind of acts as vandalism and loitering. I can see how it is vandalism and loitering but this is such a creative and artistic tradition that doesn't really bother anyone in my opinion. Why should it be seen similar to something like graffiti? They want their love for someone to be known to the world and encourage young and old to not give up in believing in love regardless of how old, is that wrong? As a result, many locks have been taken off of many places around the world because it was said to cause rust on bridges, problems to the infrastructures, and even forbidden in some countries! All I can say is the people will find another way and place to hang them in the public.

I think this is a very cute idea and as a writer, I feel I get so much inspiration from seeing these amazing photos and places that still have these locks. I would want to read what some of those say! There are wishing wells and wishing trees all around the world and they haven't be seen as loitering or vandalism so why should this? Those bridges are made for transportation and for the convince of traveling for people so technically it belongs to the people right? This should be a culture that is allowed around the world and not seen as vandalism. This is a violation of freedom of space, will, thought, and expression!

Who agrees?