Love Lock Bridges of Paris

by Tamara Chavarria

Photo of The Pont des Art Bridge in Paris France crossing the Seine river, filled with locks
by Janna Kahila  http://www.jkahilaphotography.com/

Most couples dream of going to the city of love wanting to have something to secure their love. In Paris the Pont des Art Bridge has become a popular place where couples and tourists have created the lock tradition. They buy locks from the local street vendors and write their names and lovers on the locks and throw the key in the river that the Pont des Art Bridge crosses, the Seine river. The bridge according from Alissa J Ruben and Aurelien Breeden article has seven arches and was built under the rule of Napoleon. In 2015 the lock tradition ended because of people believing the locks were affecting the bridge and the environment.

In Roslyn Sulcas article she gives the reasons why people thought we should stop putting locks on bridges and that is because the bridge has been closed before. Other bridges around the world have experienced the same problems such as bridges in Brussel and Berlin. This bridge also had past damage from World War 1 and 2 from two aerial bombardments. With all these things wrong with the bridge plus together with the locks that was said to weigh as much as two semitrailers. All these difficulties with the bridge really made people fear for their safety so they cut off the locks on the bridge in 2016.

Alissa J Rubin and Gala Pinanigiani in their article argued that the bridge was beautiful before the locks. It was a beautiful spot in Paris where art exhibitions were held and painters could get a unique view or even have a picnic. The steel bridge resembled a suspended garden with trees, bank of flowers, and benches and is famous for being featured in the movie Le Pont Des Arts. But what really brought this love lock tradition to an end in 2015 was people who thought that there could be an alternative to the locks. They believed it could be fixed with the help of tourists and citizens.

To accomplish this in the article from Roslyn Sulcas said that they have made petitions on change.org and even made the bridge part of the World Heritage Site. Also in the article “Moving On after Love’s Bonds are Broken.” By Roslyn Sulcus, Anne Hidalgo the mayor also believed this was a big problem for the city and bridge. Like the quote in Roden Frankie’s article says “For reason of security, we have to find an alternative to these padlocks of love”. Instead of using the locks they could find a different way to symbolize their love such as Roden Frankie states in his article. To restore the Pont des Arts Bridge back to its former glory is by removing the locks finding a solution and ending this love hate relationship.

Pont des Arts: A Bridge of Love in Paris

Works Cited:
Rodon, Frankie. Huffington Post “Love Locks: The History And Appeal.” Aug, 28, 2015, ttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/frankie-rendon/love-locks-the-history-an_1_b_8056154.html Accessed October 12, 2018

Alissa J Ruben,; Breeden, Aurelien. 4 “Showing Love For Historic Bridge, Paris Removes Tons of Padlocks.” New York Times, Vol.164, No 56885, June, 2, 2015, pp.A4-A4. Academic Search Premier https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.usca.edu/docview/2074320533?accountid=25998

Rubin, Alissa J; Pianigiani, Gala. “On Bridges in Paris, Clanking With Love.” New York Times, Vol.163, No 56485, April, 28, 2014, pp. A7-A7. 5 Academic Search Premier https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.usca.edu/docview/1941458572?accountid=25998

Sablich, Justin. “Despite Concerns, Love Locks Prevail.” New York Times, Vol.165, No 57037, Nov, 1, 2015, pp. 2-2. 5 Academic Search Premier https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.usca.edu/docview/2074617369?accountid=25998

Sulcas, Roslyn. “Moving On After Love’s Bonds are Broken.” The New York Times, New York Times edition, June, 12, 2015, pp.A4 ttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/world/europe/paris-and-lovers-look-to-move-on-after-breakup-with-bridges-locks.html

FilipinoWebChannel, “Pont des Arts: A Bridge of Love in Paris” YouTube video, 2:38, Posted by FilipinoWebChannel, Jun 26, 2014,

Kahila, Janne, Pont des Arts, Jan 29,2014, Paris, flicker https://www.flickr.com/photos/janneka/12203329724

Links for Further Research:
Come to Paris: Pont des Arts
https://www.cometoparis.com/paris-guide/paris-monuments/pont-des-arts-s959 
The above link directs you to a website giving more information on the history of the Pont des Art Bridge and includes a map of its location and a list of varies activates to do in Paris

Le pont des Arts. Film.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410466/ 
The above link is a movie that was filmed on November, 10, 2004 Paris that features the Pont Des Arts Bridge Directed by Eugène Green Pierre and stars Adrien Michaux, Natacha Régnier, and Alexis Loret.

Come to Paris: History of the bridges to Paris
https://www.cometoparis.com/secrets-and-stories-of-paris/history-of-the-bridges-of-paris-s1066 Above is a link that gives history on all the bridges in Paris and includes pictures

Your Love Locked Out

Nahtanoj Ecyb

The beginning of locking your love

Paris, France is an amazing place many lovers go and experience the magic of the city of love, but one of the most famous tourist traditions has been put on hold for the Pont Des Arts Bridge famous of the love locks lovers lock on the bridge is no more. For the bridge famous for love can no longer bare the weight of people’s love locks. Which has many lovers disappointed over this fact for they were not about to put their on locks on the bridge and lock in their love.

 

The Pont des Arts Bridge was built in 1801 and orders from Napoleon. The bridge is crosses over the Seine River. The bridge is not the same as it is today, for when first build it was an iron bridge which was the first one in France. The bridge was damaged from bombings during WWI, WWII, and boats colliding into it. The current Pont des Arts Bridge which was built identically from the first was made from steel. The Bridge is now a spot for art show.

Pont des Arts is not just a regular bridge for it had a mystery surrounding it which involved love locks. It seems that no one knows who started the trends or when it started, but some people have come up with a legend that states the origins of love locks and why there so popular.  “Legend states that just before World War II, in the town of Vrnjacka Banja, a couple named Nada and Relja found themselves embroiled in a passionate, amorous tryst. When war broke out, Relja enlisted in the army, and Nada pledged to faithfully await his return; however, she later discovered that Relja had fallen for another woman while away on the frontlines. As the story goes, Nada died from a broken heart, and in her memory, other village girls began attaching padlocks onto the Most Ljubavi Bridge (translated: “Bridge of Love”), where Nada and Relja once spent their time. On these padlocks, each girl wrote her name alongside her beloved’s name to ensure that special someone wouldn’t leave as Relja had”. (Rendón)

The Love lock mystery in Paris is believed to have started in 2008 when couples travel to Paris and arrive to the bridge and engraved their names onto the locks placing it anywhere on the bridge and throws the key into the river. This show of love continued on tell June of 2015 when the city had the panels where most of the locks were on the bridge remove, for the weight of the locks where destroying the panels and causing a safety problem for the bridge was not made to hold the amount of weight all the locks added up to which was about forty tons. The city is now replacing the panels with glass with artist drawing. Now the bridge is used to have art shows.

           

Love Locks are not just popular in Paris but many places in the world and the city were the love lock trends is have made the locks in to a piece of art work, for example in Moscow, Russia the locks are attached on a man-made metal tree, and Toronto, Canada there are heart shaped sculptures couples can put their padlocks, so that they want put it on the Humber Bay Arch Bridge. 

Work Citied:

“PONT DES ARTS BRIDGE” NAPOLEON.org, http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/places/pont-des-arts-bridge/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2016.

CBS This Morning. “Paris removes “love locks” over weight fears.” YouTube, 1 Jun. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7xxHXioddI.

Fouquet Helene., and Mark Deen."Locked and overloaded; Parisian bridges threatened by weight of countless 'love locks' left on railings." The Gazette (Montreal), 10 June. 2014, http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/hottopics/lnacademic/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2016.

Key, Derek. Pont Des Arts, Paris. 9 April. 2013, Commons. Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pont_des_Arts,_Paris_9_April_2013.jpg.

Morenne Benoit. “Paris Bridge of Love Locks Now One of Sculptures.” The New York Times, 25 May. 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/world/europe/paris-bridge-of-love-locks-now-one-of-sculptures.html. Accessed 9 Oct. 2016

Rendón, Frankie. “Love Locks: The History and Appeal” The Huffington Post.com, 28 Aug 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frankie-rendon/love-locks-the-history-an_1_b_8056154.html/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2016.

BBC New. “ ’Lovelocks’ collapse Paris bridge rail- BBC News” YouTube, 9 June. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSM3AreSiAA

Other sources:

No Love Locks

https://nolovelocks.com/

A website of a petition that locals in Paris made to ban people putting love locks on the bridge

Love Locks online

http://lovelocksonline.com/blog/

A website that promotes the custom of placing lovelocks on landmarks.

New York Post

http://nypost.com/2016/10/06/city-is-sick-of-couples-leaving-love-locks-on-brooklyn-bridge/

Tells the problems of that hanging love locks on the Brooklyn Bridge. Which is a similar case to Pont Des Art Bridge