Love lock

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Love locks with engraving on the Hohenzollern Bridge , Cologne
Love locks on the Milvian Bridge

A love lock is a padlock that, according to a custom, is attached to bridges , bars or similar fixed objects by lovers to symbolically seal their eternal love.

Origin of the custom

The exact origin of the custom is unclear. The starting point in Europe is very likely Italy ( Italian lucchetti dell'amore ). It is believed that graduates of the San Giorgio Sanitary Academy in Florence are the originators of this custom. At the end of their apprenticeship, they fastened the padlocks on their lockers to a railing on the Ponte Vecchio . This was probably taken over by the lovers of Rome at the Milvian Bridge . Through the bestselling novel Drei Meter über dem Himmel (2005; Original: Tre metri sopra il cielo , 1992) and the sequel I stand on you (2007; Italian Ho voglia di te , 2006) by Federico Moccia as well as its film adaptation was the Popular topic. In this story, the two protagonists swear "eternal love", attach the lock to the central bridge lantern and throw the key into the Tiber.

The locks often contain inscriptions or engravings of the first names or initials of the lovers, sometimes with the date. After attaching the lock, the key is usually thrown into the bridged flowing water. At the Milvian Bridge, this is done with the saying per semper ("forever").

Retransmission

Since then it has become common in many countries, the tradition in Vrnjačka Banja ( Serbia ) on the love bridge is said to have existed since the First World War .

Fence in Pécs

In Hungarian Pécs was customary since the early 1980s on a wrought iron fence in the city. Since there is no longer any space for it, the city administration erected new metal rods designed by artists for this purpose.

In Germany, the first love locks were connected to Cologne's Hohenzollern Bridge in late summer 2008 , and this place initially became one of the most famous. The question of weight and number of locks, which occasionally arises in this context, is answered differently, estimates range from two (April 2011) to 15 (September 2011) to 27 tons (August 2016) for, for example, 40,000 locks. The manufacturers speak of "huge growth", but do not give any specific figures. This custom was also introduced by couples in love and weds on bridges in other major German cities or on the Weser Skywalk and has spread unstoppably ever since.

Bridges are preferred objects because of their connecting function and were therefore chosen very often in the beginning. In the meantime, locks can also be found on benches near the water, such as in Erfurt near the (built) Krämerbrücke , the Pilsum lighthouse or in similar romantic places (see picture Moscow in the following gallery bridges with love locks ). In July 2013, a love stone with eyelets for locks was erected in Heidelberg in order to "relieve" the listed Old Bridge in every respect.


Criticism and prohibitions

Love locks and prohibition sign in Sliema
Removal of the love locks on Charles Bridge in Prague

The effects of this custom are locally controversial: In Rome, Mayor Walter Veltroni banned the custom in 2007 after a lantern was knocked over under the weight of the locks. However, shortly afterwards the municipality of Rome provided alternative places for the love locks by installing bollards with chains stretched in between. However, these were removed on September 10, 2012 and should now possibly be taken to a museum.

In many cities there are already bans: in Venice and Berlin it is strictly forbidden to attach them to bridges. In particular, this concerns Venice's Rialto Bridge . Locks have been removed and reattaching can cost a fine of up to 3,000 euros . In Berlin, it is an administrative offense and warning fines of up to 35 euros can be levied. Particularly affected are listed bridges. The visual impression is mostly annoying, but electrolytic corrosion of the noble brass of locks compared to the less noble iron used on bridges can lead to rust damage; such were z. B. found in Lübeck at the Obertravebrücke. The Wuppertal city ​​administration sees the custom as the danger that the rust protection paint could suffer under the locks; In addition, damage caused by the removal of the locks is seen by the municipalities as a problem.

On the other hand, notice e.g. B. Authorities in Cologne and Lübeck the tourist value: Two chains were attached to the Lübeck Obertravebrücke, there it is allowed to fasten the love locks. A ban at the Cologne Hohenzollern Bridge had the German railway rejected (DB). In July 2018, however, the DB announced that the locks hanging there had to be completely removed in connection with the necessary rust protection. This was withdrawn the following day. Due to the theft of around 50 “love locks” from this bridge, the Cologne District Court sentenced a previously convicted man to three months in prison without parole in August 2012 .

In Salzburg , the city administration cut 42 locks from the fence of the Makartsteg in May 2011 due to a general regulation . The responsible building councilor Claudia Schmidt ( ÖVP ) saw the removal of the locks, who always counted the locks in passing, but later counted them as an error. The attachment of love locks is now allowed again to a certain extent. There are now more than 1,000 such locks in Salzburg.

Locks on the NiRo steel cable nets of the railing of the Erzherzog-Johann-Brücke in Graz were once officially removed, but after a discussion in newspapers they were tolerated again. In 2013, an approximately 1.70 m high cardboard castle model appeared on the approximately 30 cm deep protrusion of the steel girder in the middle of the bridge under the upstream pavement. After a storm it was put up a second time for a short time, which required a dusty climb.

A no love lock sign on Brooklyn Bridge, New York

On June 8, 2014, the bridge railing of the Pont des Arts in Paris collapsed due to the weight of approx. 93 tons of the locks attached to it over a length of 2.4 meters. The bridge had to be closed. On June 1, 2015, the Paris city council announced that it wanted to remove all locks in Paris and design bridge railings in such a way that it would no longer be possible to add new locks.

reception

The Cologne band Höhner thematized the love locks on Cologne's Hohenzollern Bridge in the song Schenk mir dein Herz from 2009.

The Berlin artist Mey Lean Kronemann led in 2012 a. a. In hackspaces in Bamberg and Linz they carried out an action called “Lovepicking”, in which existing love locks were opened non-destructively using lock picking technology and rearranged into a chain. Those involved wanted to question the idea that love or relationships are closed or locked. The action led to media reports and controversial discussions.

In the final scene of the film The Incredibles - Now You See Me , a lock is attached to the Pont des Arts in Paris in a variant - instead of sealing mutual love, sealing a mutual silence .

See also

literature

  • Cynthia Imogen Hammond: Renegade Ornament and the Image of the post-Socialist City. The Pécs “Love Locks”, Hungary . In: Timea Kovács (Ed.): Half-Past. Urban spaces and urban living environments before and after 1989 . Lukas-Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 3-86732-082-9 , p. 181-193 (English).
  • Dagmar Hänel, Mirko Uhlig: A padlock for eternal love. A new custom is establishing itself in Cologne. In: Everyday life in the Rhineland 2010. LVR Institute for Regional Studies and Regional History , Bonn 2010, pp. 68–75.

Web links

Commons : Love Locks  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: love lock  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ unknown: Rome forbids "love locks". In: Die Welt from March 6, 2007
  2. ↑ http://www.vrnjackabanja.biz/mostljubavi.php
  3. ↑ ABC News from August 17, 2003 in: Cynthia Imogen Hammond: Renegade Ornament and the Image of the post-Socialist City. The Pécs Love Locks, Hungary . In: Timea Kovács (Ed.): Half-Past: Urban Spaces and Urban Living Worlds Before and After 1989 , Lukas Verlag, 2010, ISBN 3-86732-082-9 , p. 184 restricted preview in the Google book search
  4. ↑ Situation in Pécs 2014, seen during a city tour and explained by a trained guide.
  5. ↑ Pascal Beucker : Why couples hang padlocks on a Cologne bridge. , Die Welt , March 1, 2009.
  6. ↑ koeln.de: Love locks are no threat to Hohenzollern Bridge. dated April 18, 2011.
  7. ↑ Kerstin Bund: The weight of love on zeit.de , accessed on December 11, 2012.
  8. ↑ spiegel.de , August 8, 2016, interview with Carola Padtberg-Kruse from the artist group Frankfurter Hauptschule : artist group wants to melt down love locks
  9. Jump in paragraphs: Romanticism saves the padlock , Wirtschaftswoche , August 5, 2013
  10. ↑ A somewhat special place for the love locks
  11. ↑ koeln.de: Grace period for love locks on the Hohenzollern Bridge. from January 13, 2009
  12. ↑ La Repubblica in May 2006: [1]
  13. ^ La Repubblica , September 10, 2012: [2] , accessed September 10, 2012
  14. ↑ Daniela Heimpel: To Eternal Love. In: Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved April 26, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Love symbols: More and more locks on the Wupper bridges Westdeutsche Zeitung (online) from August 5, 2011
  16. ↑ Mindener Tagblatt: Love locks on the Glacis Bridge again, damaged wire warfare must be repaired , accessed on August 29, 2012
  17. ↑ David Freches: 22 tons load: Do the love locks on Cologne's Hohenzollern Bridge also have to go? In: Kölner Stadtanzeiger from June 2, 2015, accessed on April 26, 2016.
  18. ↑ https://www.rundschau-online.de/region/koeln/bis-dass-der-rost-uns-scheidet-deutsche-bahn-will-liebesschloesser-entfernen-31002526 Daniel Taab: Until rust do us part Kölnische Rundschau from July 24, 2018
  19. ↑ https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/koeln/koeln-deutsche-bahn-rudert-bei-aus-fuer-die-schloesser-an-der-bruecke-zurueck_aid-24051153 Claudia Hauser: DB is rowing back Rheinische Post from July 25, 2018
  20. ↑ Three months imprisonment for love lock thieves . Cologne city indicator. August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  21. ↑ Magistrate does not like love locks , salzburg.orf.at, May 10, 2011
  22. ↑ 1,000 love locks already in Salzburg ( memento from March 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  23. ^ Rainer Maichin: The largest love lock on the bridge woche.at, November 8, 2013, accessed January 22, 2018.
  24. ↑ Nina Pauer : Oh là là, l'amour! Paris collapses under the weight of love locks , in: Die Zeit No. 25/2014. P. 41
  25. ↑ Locks too heavy as proof of love for Pariser Brücke. In: The Standard . June 9, 2014, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  26. ↑ Paris finally puts an end to love locks. In: The Standard . June 1, 2015, accessed June 1, 2015 .
  27. ↑ badische-zeitung.de , Panorama , August 4, 2016: No more love locks in Paris (August 15, 2016)
  28. ↑ Love Picking: the artist's website , blog report on the workshop in Linz , report in Spiegel Online , lecture ( Memento July 21, 2013 Internet Archive ) (with recording ) on the action and its consequences on the re: publica 2013 All sources accessed on June 29, 2013.