Bridges of Love
A bridge, an eternal moment and a padlock to seal your love for ever… For some an ancient Chinese tradition, for others just a symbol of love. In Europe, love padlocks started appearing in the early 2000s. And in Italy, the ritual of leaving love padlocks on one of the bridges – Ponte Milvio – is due to the book I Want You by Italian author Federico Moccia.
For many other countries there are no precise origins, but the phenomenon of love locks is spreading like a virus in the whole world. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Strong Russian Commitment – Tallinn, Estonia
According to the Russian tradition, when married, a bride and a groom must buy a lock, write their names on it, lock it to the bridge and throw the key into the river. And so their love will be eternal.
‘Unbreakable’ bonds – Florence, Italy
A 14th century medieval bridge that crosses the Arno River offering a wonderful view for the passing-by lovers as well as a place to seal their love forever in a place full of history and architectural values. “Nel trentatrè dopo il mille-trecento, il ponte cadde, per diluvio dell’ acque: poi dieci anni, come al Comun piacque, rifatto fu con questo adornamento.”
Lovers Locks in Riga, Latvia
The bridge is the voice of a centuries old tradition from China that symbolizes the locking of ones life and love together.
Chortov Bridge - Kiev, Ukraine
The Bridge of Love is a wood and steel pedestrian bridge on the northern side of Mariinskiy Park. This place is like an exhibition for more than 1000 locks with names of lovers inscribed on them.
All Red, All Hearts – Penglai, Shandong Province, China
Lovers Bridge in Penglai locks the love up. More than tourism. 
Accordingly to an ancient Chinese tradition, when a young couple marries, they place a lock on the chain and throw the key in the water. Symbol for everlasting love.
Tumski Bridge in Wroclaw Poland
An old road bridge build in 1889 to connect two cities: Ostrow Tumski and Wyspa Piaskowa; now open for pedestrians only to cherish feelings. Thousands of love keys stay for eternity on the bottom of Odra river.
Never ending love – Niigata, Japan
Yunagi-no-hashi (bridge of evening calm) There is a special bridge in the site. It is a 120m long wooden bridge on the Sea of Japan named Yunagi-no-hashi (bridge of evening calm). The story goes that – if you lock the key of the parapet of the bridge, your love will have a happy ending. Many believers, couples and couple wanna-bes, have visited this bridge and make a wish. It is said that you can see the world’s largest sunset from the bridge.
Most Ljubavi – Vrnjaka Banja, Serbia
Known as a popular spa town in Serbia, Vrnjaka Banja is also the home of a wonderful tourist attraction: Most Ljubavi – The Bridge of Love… The sad story of two lovers separated by the First World War who used to meet on this bridge attracts people from everywhere. Lovers write their names on a padlock, attach it to the bridge railings and throw away the key to seal their love for ever.
Vrnjaka Banja must have a flourishing padlock industry. 
As a consequence, Nada never recovered from her condemned love and died. Since then, all young girls from Vrnjaka Banja who wanted to protect their own love stories started writing down their names, together with the names of their loved ones, on padlocks and fastening them to the railings of the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet.
Love on the Rhine – Cologne, Germany
Like in many other places, thousands and thousands of love locks are fixed by people who love each other. This time, onto a fence on a train bridge. A German custom says that lovers who fix a lock to the fence and throw the key into the river will have their love locked for eternity.
Most Romantic Bridge – Pont des Arts Bridge, Paris
In Paris, lovers fix padlocks to the railings of the Pont des Arts bridge. Passerelle des Arts, dating since 1803, is the city’s first iron bridge, situated close to the heart of France next to the prestigious Academy of Arts and Letters.
Filed under: Amazing Pictures
[...] Weirdomatic [...]