Institut de France in Paris at night with love padlocks covering both sides of Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge…before the romantic gesture was banned and the railings were replaced with glass. Love locks can be found all around the world such as Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Servia, Solvenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the USA. Photo #1 by Xynn Tii

Love Locks on Hohenzollern Bridge near Cologne Cathedral in Germany. The bridge is 1,342.5 ft (409.19 m) long and people have placed love padlocks on the fence between the footpath and the railway lines since 2008. Photo #2 by Marc Oliver John

“Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale,” ~ Anonymous. Love padlocks in front of Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. The photographer noted that the locks of love were hanging all over the Marienbrücke bridge, in front of the Neuschwanstein castle, and that shows us how much people love to fall in love at this destination. Photo #3 by Freddy Enguix

Plenty of places have been embroiled in controversy: “In Bamberg, 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.” Photo #4 by Frank Vincentz

Love padlocks in Celle, Germany. Photo #5 by Norbert Nagel

Liverpool Love Locks. Photo #6 by Radarsmum67

Love padlocks in Ottawa, Canada. Once upon a time, Dr. Seuss said, “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” Photo #7 by Bust it Away Photography

Locked love on bridge in Cuenca, Spain. Photo #8 by Jesus Solana

Love locks – place for lovers. While some people believe having the lock cut open could mean something bad will happen to their relationship, others think love locks are an eyesore and proclaim messages like “free your love, save our bridges.” Photo #9 by Mark

Bridge of Love (Most Ljubavi in Vrnjačka Banja) in Serbia is where the lock padlock tradition is supposed to have started 100 years ago or so. The story goes: “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.” Photo #10 by Aca Srbin & #11 by White Writer

Bridge of Love in Helsinki, Finland. That’s a lot of commitments. “The greatest achievement in my life thus far has been to love you and be loved by you,” ~ Author Unknown. Photo #12 by Rémi Lanvin

Locks of Love in Seoul. “There is no remedy for love but to love more,” ~ quote by Henry David. Photo #13 by travel orientated

On the River Torrens, behind the University of Adelaide in Australia. More controversy: “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.” Photo #14 by wanderviolet

Love locks on Butchers Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The photographer noted, “Ljubljana is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. Located in the middle of a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region, it has been a historical capital of the Carniola, a Slovene-inhabited part of Austria-Hungary and is now the cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center of Slovenia, independent since 1991.” Photo #15 by Beraldo Leal

“Paris has been trying to get rid of them for years. New York has an organized group that picks them off the Brooklyn Bridge. Canada, Dublin and even Canberra frown upon them for being an eyesore and damaging to public property, but Perth is falling over itself to get it happening.” The solution is to charge couples $30 to have a heart-shaped lock attached to the Bell Tower. Photo #16 by teresa de pizzol

“Dreamcatcher.” ABC reported, “Pont des Arts is a lightweight pedestrian bridge” where a section collapsed under the weight of the 1,543.24 pounds (700 kg) of love locks; another section collapsed six months later. City officials in Paris tried to put an end to the custom, saying some railing have over 1102.31 lb (500 kg) before they were removed. The custom in Paris started “appearing on bridges in Paris around 2008, shortly after young couples in Italy began attaching padlocks to the Ponte Milvio, a bridge over Rome’s Tiber River, apparently mimicking the protagonists of a popular Italian novel.” Photo #17 by Nwardez

Love Padlocks on Karluv Bridge, Prague. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage” ~ quote by Lao Tzu. Photo #18 by Allan Grey

Love lock by the sea in Spain. The photographer said, “The viewpoint of Salinas has a circular railing. There have been many people to symbolize what may last more or less than the object used as a symbol. The sea salt claims everything is left near, even steel. In this railing the locks have a thick oxide layer that obscures the details. These must be recent as you can see the colorful paint … I did not know that there were specific padlocks to symbolize Love.” Photo #19 by Oiluj Samall Zeid

Big Lock, Canfield Fair, Canfield, Ohio. “Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile,” ~ quote by Franklin P. Jones. Photo #20 by Sgray538

Salzburg bridge in Austria. Photo #21 by Alessandro

Padlocks and sign at the N Seoul Tower. “Don’t throw away your key.” Photo #22 by Optx

Oops, too late! Divorced but no key. Photo #23 by elPadawan

Love Locks in Covent Garden, London, supporting the British Heart Foundation. The UK had a “mystery artist” in Dundee leaving small padlocks all around the city. Each lock has 2 keys and a message on the back such as ‘Free Love’, ‘Do Something Special’ and ‘Try To Inspire’. Photo #24 by Garry Knight

A sighting guide to love locks on Hohenzollern Bridge said, “Experts estimate that the padlocks weigh over two tons. And more padlocks appear on a daily basis, as not just the residents of Cologne, but also tourists want to become part of the tradition.” Photo #25 by Fredrik Andersson

Luzhkov Bridge in Moscow. The trees allow lovers to hang locks while not damaging the bridge. Why do thousands upon thousands all over the world hang locks? If Aristotle is right, then “love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” Photo #26 by Jason Eppink

Love padlocks at Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park in Spain. “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope,” ~ Maya Angelou. Photo #27 by Antonio Armero

Love locks sealed on scenic path up Mount Huangshan in China. After “love locks” were discovered on the 100-meter-long Waibaidu Bridge, which was 106-years-old, Shanghai workers were prying them off. Security guards were posted and the locks are now considered vandalism. Photo #28 by tela88

The photographer noted, “Nearly every metal chain-link fence or metal pole in Mount Huang, China has been adorned with padlocks.” Photo #29 by Asep Noor

Forever Together. Photo #30 by Paul Stahl

In Paris, tourists had attached thousands upon thousands of locks since 2008. By 2012, the number of locks locked upon locks locked upon locks was “overwhelming.” In February 2014, it was estimated that there were over 700,000 locks. In June 2014, part of the bridge collapsed under the weight of all the love padlocks. The custom of attaching a love lock to the bridge and then tossing the key into the Seine river below was considered a romantic gesture symbolizing a couple’s committed love. By September 2014, glass panels were installed on Paris’ Pont des Arts bridge to stop lovers from attaching ‘love locks’ to the railings; the panels were tagged with graffiti. The love padlock area, like Banksy’s graffiti, is loved by some people who call it art and hated by others who call it vandalism. Photo #31 by Bruce Ingwall

Paris love padlocks with Notre Dame. “Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet to see who they really are,” ~ quote by Will Ferrell. Photo #32 by Jean-François Schmitz

Meanwhile in Amsterdam, the photographer said, “The love locks on bridge 227 have all been recently painted teal, maybe to keep track of the rate with which locks are added, or perhaps just in an act of vandalism. Whether the locks themselves are in fact the original act of vandalism begs the question though ;).” Photo #33 by peterned

Love locks in Hungary. “Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years,” ~ by Simone Signoret. Photo #34 by pdvos

Love locks strung along the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet (Vancouver Island, British Columbia). According to Wikipedia, “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 Bridge due to concerns over aesthetics and structural concerns if the Bridge were to become a love padlock destination.” Photo #35 by Ingrid Taylar

Love you in Zurich. “Love at first sight is easy to understand; it’s when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle,” ~ Sam Levenson. Photo #36 by Mrs. G.G.

Love padlocks in Malta. Photo #37 by Kajsa Lilius

Big Love. One of the love lock legends comes from Fengyuan, Taiwan, where “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.” Photo #38 by Vladislav N.

Love padlocks in Izmailovo Kremlin. Photo #39 by Puno 3000

Selma and Thomas’ Love immortalized on the bridge with a lizard love padlock. Did you know? Masked gunmen tore down and threw away the wire mesh that held love locks on an Iraqi bridge? That was after a party to inaugurate the Love Bridge…after word spread, the man who started the project “received a death threat in the form of a bullet in an envelope enclosed with a note that read: ‘We advise you to stay away from that bridge, it could be dangerous for you’.” Photo #40 by BellaGaia

This is Frankfurt, but 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 center, the Council said. The padlocks have been criticized 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 center.” Photo #41 by Jeremy Brooks

This is Prague, but another love lock legend comes from Uruguay: “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’.” Photo #42 by Bora Sıpal

Large wooden love padlock on the bridge, Ljubljana Castle. “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” — I Corinthians 13:7. Photo #43 by Ulleskelf

Locks for lovers are allowed in the Czech Republic, but in Washington D.C. during August 2014: “The D.C. Department of Transportation removed the dozens of ‘love locks’ that started popping up on the Key Bridge.” When “Asked if DDOT will do anything to prevent couples from placing more locks on the Key Bridge in particular, he simply replied: ‘DDOT will take measures to protect the integrity of the bridge structure’.” Photo #44 by Brian Jeffery Beggerly

Love padlocks on Vasterbron bridge in Stockholm Sweden. Photo #45 by olle svensson

Sprangbreak. Here’s another something different: “In Algiers love padlocks were added in September 2013 to a bridge that was previously known as the ‘suicide bridge’.” Photo #46 by Marc G

Committing to love and a clown? This is the making of some people’s nightmares. Photo #47 by Guilhem Vellut from Tokyo, Japan

“I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you,” ~ Paulo Coelho. Photo #48 by Armin Staudt

The photographer wrote, “Tens of thousands of padlocks hung on the Hohenzollernbrucke a habit that followed in many cities like the phenomenon has supplanted the engagement ring. The origin is probably from Italy but there are other countries that claim the origin.” Photo #49 by Roel Wijnants

“It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them,” ~ Agatha Christies. Photo #50 by Hector Vale