The history of Love Locks

                   বিশ্বের  প্রেমিক  প্রেমিকা যোগলের   লাভ  লক  নিয়ে  কিছু  কথা  :

             (  Metal grilles on the side of the Pont des Arts, which dates to 1804, will be replaced by paintings over the summer, before transparent panels are put in place later this year  ot save the bridge .)

             ("We want Paris to remain the capital of love and romance," said Bruno Julliard, Paris' deputy mayor, adding that there would be new initiatives encouraging people to express their love in other ways.)

             প্যারিস  কে  নাকি বিশ্ব প্রেমিক  ও  প্রেমিকাদের  রাজধানী  বলা  হয়  ৷  তাই বিশ্বের অনেক  প্রেমিক  যোগল  ফ্রান্সে  হানিমূন  বা  ডেটিং  করতে  যান  ৷  তখন  তাদের  মধূর  যোগল  জীবন  দীর্ঘস্থায়ী  করতে  প্যারিস  শহরের  সাইন  নদীর  ওপরে  অবস্থিত  একটি  ব্রিজের  গ্রিলে  পেডলক  দিয়ে  তালা  লাগান  এবং  চাবী  নদীতে  ফেলে  দেন  ৷  এতে  তারা  সারা  জীবন  একসঙ্গে  থাকতে  পারার  একটি  নিশ্চয়তা  অর্জন  করতে  পারেন  বলে  ঐ  যোগলরা  মনে  করেন ৷  বতর্মানে  কয়েক  মিলিয়ন  তালা  লাগানো  হয়ে  গেছে  ৷  যার  ওজন  ৪৫  টনের  বেশী  হয়ে  গিয়ে  ব্রিজের  মূল  ফ্রেইমই  এখন  ব্যাকা  হয়ে  পড়েছে  ৷  তাই  প্যারিস  সিটি  কর্তৃপক্ষ  সম্প্রতি  সবতালা  খুলে  ফেলে  দিচ্ছেন  এবং  ভবিষ্যতে  আর  ঐ  ব্রিজে  লাভ  লক  লাগাতে  অনুমতি  দেয়া  হবে  না  বলেছেন ৷  তাহলে  প্রেমিক  প্রেমিকাদের  স্থায়ীভাবে  যোগলবন্ধি  থাকার  অঙ্গিকারের  এই  কুসংস্কারপূর্ণ  সুযোগ  কী  শেষ    হয়ে  যাবে ?

            বাংলাদেশ  সহ  এই  উপ-মহাদেশের  বিভিন্ন  মজারে  ভক্তরা  গিয়ে  তাদের  আশা  পূর্ণ  হওয়ার  উদ্দেশ্য  মাজারের  কিছু  নির্দিষ্টকরা  গাছে  সুতা গিয়ে  গিরো  দিতে  দেখা  যায়  ৷ কুসংস্কারে  বিশ্বাসে  বোধহয়  দেশ  কাল  ও  পাত্রের  কোনো  ভেদাভেদ  বা  পার্থক্য  নেই  ?

  More information for interested readers ( from internate )

    The history of Love Locks

          The history of love padlocks dates back at least 100 years to a melancholic Serbian tale of World War I, with an attribution for the bridge Most Ljubavi (lit. the Bridge of Love) inspa town of Vrnjačka Banja.   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.
In rest of Europe, love padlocks started appearing in the early 2000s.  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.   

Love locks are a symbol of love and commitment.  Here at LoveLocks, Inc. we have been inspired by an ancient custom, which is believed to have originated in China – where lovers lock a padlock on a chain or gate and then throw away the key, symbolically locking their love forever.  Around the world, cities from Moscow to Rome are filled with fences, bridges, and poles adorned with padlocks.

Love padlocks (also known as Love Locks) are a custom by which  padlocks are affixed to a fence, gate, bridge or similar public fixture by  sweethearts to symbolize their everlasting love.  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. The reasons love padlocks started to appear vary between locations, and in many instances are unsourced. However, in Rome, the ritual of affixing love padlocks to thebridge Ponte Milvio can be attributed to the book I Want You by Italian author Frederico Moccia, who later made it into the film-adaptation Hovoglia dite.  It has been said that if both members of “love’s hand” are not present as the lock locks, the love has been forever jinxed. –  Wikpedia

These love padlocks are an expression of hope and humanity, connecting people around the world with the one thing that unites us all: love.  If you are looking for a unique and creative way to express your love and commitment, you now have the chance to play a role in this ancient tradition with one of a custom engraved love padlock from LoveLocks, Inc.

         Notable locations and controversies ;

One of many purpose-built iron trees on a bridge across theVodootvodny Canal in Moscow completely covered in love padlocks.

In several countries the local authorities and owners of various landmarks have expressed concern and tried to have the padlocks removed:

·                    In May 2010 the city of Paris expressed concern over the growing number of love-locks on the Pont des Arts, Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor and the Pont de l'Archevêché bridges, stating: "they raise problems for the preservation of our architectural heritage". The lovelocks of the Pont des Arts mysteriously disappeared during the night of 11 May 2010, but the Administration denied responsibility, until it was discovered that they had been removed by a student of the nearby École des Beaux-Arts to make a sculpture.^[8] Love locks immediately began appearing on the Pont de l'Archevêché^[5] and have since spread to at least 11 Seine bridges, the Canal Saint Martin footbridges, and to parks and monuments all over the city. Many tourists mistakenly believe this is a longstanding Parisian tradition, not realizing the practice only migrated into Paris in late 2008 after affecting cities in Italy and Asia. In January 2014, a campaign and petition, No Love Locks™, was founded by two Americans living in Paris in an effort to save the city's historic bridges and monuments from the overwhelming number of locks. The international media attention the campaign received has been credited with the actions begun in the summer and fall of 2014, when the city began seeking alternatives to love locks and asking the public to stop placing locks on Parisian bridges and monuments. On 9 June 2014, the weight of the padlocks on the Pont Des Arts bridge were blamed for the collapse of part of the parapet.^[9] The city began an experiment in September 2014 on the Pont des Arts, replacing three panels with a special type of glass that would prevent locks from being attached.^[10]

·                    In New York City a group of locksport enthusiasts organized to remove locks from the Brooklyn Bridge in 2013^[11]

·                    Deutsche Bahn threatened to have the locks removed from the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne. Deutsche Bahn is the bridge's operator, but in the end relented in the face of public opposition.^[12]

·                    In Albury, New South Wales Australia, love locks have begun appearing on a fence overlooking Lake Hume, just outside of the city, close to the weir wall on the New South Wales side of the border at the Lake Hume Village.

·                    In Canada, love padlocks appearing along the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island, have caused controversy as some regard them as a distraction from nature. Love padlocks were removed from the Humber Bay Arch Bridge due to concerns over aesthetics and structural concerns if the Bridge were to become a love padlock destination.^[13] The Corktown Footbridge has also attracted love locks.^[14]

·                    In Florence, Italy, 5,500 love padlocks affixed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge were removed by the city council. According to the council the padlocks both pose an aesthetic problem as well as scratch and dent the metal of the bridge.^[15]

             Love padlocks in Algiers have been removed by youths

·                    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 Council has said. "This seems to have only started happening in the last few months and we're asking people not to do it," said a spokesperson for Dublin City Council. Some locks have also been removed from the Millennium Bridge, close to the Ha'penny Bridge in the city centre, the Council said. The padlocks have been criticised for being an eyesore on public structures. They can also cause further damage when they have to be removed, the Council said. The spokesperson confirmed that the Council will continue to remove the locks from any bridges they appear on in the city centre.^[16]

Love padlocks on Pont des Arts, Paris

·                    In Bamberg,^{[citation needed]} Germany, after inviting the public to attach love locks on the Kettenbrücke in 2011, officials threatened to remove them during the same year due to rust. After public outrage and several township meetings, the locks remain.

·                    In Algiers love padlocks were added in September 2013 to a bridge that was previously known as the "suicide bridge" in Telemly a district of Algiers, but after a video made by an imam saying that love padlocks are forbidden in Islam, some youths brought tools to remove them by night a few days later.^[17][18]

·                    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.

·                    In Toowoomba, Australia, love locks have been appearing at Picnic Point, a heritage-listed tourist attraction featuring a park and lookout at the top of the Great Dividing Range.^[19]

·                    In Atlanta, GA, love locks were removed by officials on the Beltline over Ralph McGill in 2013. Locks are now beginning to appear on Cherokee Avenue in Grant Park over I-20. November 2014.

·                    Authorities in Canberra, Australia, decided in February 2015 to remove love locks from a bridge that was becoming a popular location to affix them, and from other locations in Canberra. Justifications given for the decision were the possibility of future threats to public safety from eventual overloading of the bridge with a mass of padlocks, and structural interference resulting from corrosion. A bridge in Paris was mentioned by authorities as an example of an overloaded bridge, a probable reference to the Pont des Arts.^[20]

·                    On 20 May 2015, council authorities in Melbourne, Australia, began removing love locks from Southgate footbridge due to safety concerns. Around 22,000 love locks were reported to have been fixed to the railings, causing cables to sag.^[21]

Love-locks in Suseong Lake, Daegu, South Korea

Legends and superstitions ; 

On some locations the padlocks have been given almost legendary or superstitious character:

·                    In Fengyuan, Taiwan, love padlocks affixed to an overpass at the city's train station are often affixed in pairs. These locks are known as "wish locks" and local legend holds that the magnetic field generated by trains passing underneath will cause energy to accumulate in the locks and fulfill the wishes.

·                    On a fountain in Montevideo in Uruguay, a plaque is affixed to the front of the fountain that provides an explanation in both English and Spanish. The English version of the text reads, "The legend of this young fountain tells us that if a lock with the initials of two people in love is placed in it, they will return together to the fountain and their love will be forever locked."