Love locks: serious problem in many European cities including Prague
Hi everyone,
If you have visited some popular European cities in the recent years, you might have noticed there is a new touristic trend that seems to be romantic but in fact, it poses a serious problem for local authorities.
Source: Pixabay (Creative Commons)
Yes, we are talking about the love locks. Whether you are in Paris, London, Rome, Prague or any other popular European metropolis, you can be sure there are some bridges bending or even collapsing under the weight of thousands (in some extreme cases up to a million) of love locks.
Source: Flickr (Creative Commons)
Consequently, what started as an innocent romantic tradition, is now often viewed as an act of vandalism that authorities try to discourage.
There are several bridges in the historic center of Prague that have been “targeted” by couples who want to demonstrate their love by this unfortunate method too. However, the lovers probably do not know that their padlocks only stay locked on the bridge for a very short period of time anyway as local authorities send their maintenance workers to remove the padlocks regularly, which is both time and finance consuming.
Source: Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons)
Therefore, if you are in Prague and want to do something romantic with your partner, head out to the Petrin Hill which is considered the most romantic spot in the city where those in love can enjoy some nice moments of intimacy without causing any damage to the beautiful architecture of the Czech capital.
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Tomas
CEO & Founder of CGH
The majority of people lacks brains to think about the consequences of their [often unnecessary] actions. That's the real problem, not bending bridges.
I have seen such a bridge in Frankfurt. Actually it looks fantastic visually but I don't think that it is a witness for a couples love. I think many of the couples who do this break up maybe in the same year.. So the rest is just torment for the workers who remove them..
I gues we could blame the maintenance workers for that, lol.... Have a good one.... Tomas
Great post.Loved the photography. That is really sad news for all the people.Loves lock are really popular with the couple an yes it had bad effect to like there heavy weight in place you lock them. It would take a lot time to get rid of it as they have broke every single lock.It is also like a problem.I didn't knew about it glad to know it. And yes the couple should go to Petrin Hill to send time.Thanks for sharing it with us. many people are going to learn from your post Tomas. @czechglobalhosts
Yep, what seems like a cute thing can have a bad consequences after all.... Glad to see you enjoyed the post.... Have a good one . Tomas
I mean why waste money by by locks and destroy beauty and architecture of the place when you can simply buy her some snack with that money and as you mentioned go to petrin hill and eat it together haha prague is a beautiful city so any place is a romantic and beautiful places, rather than trying to leave a destructive mark try to enjoy it and make memories which are worth soo much more. Thanks for sharing this post and many of the people are going to be aware now from it. I know I wouldn’t do it and i hope to visit prague.
Sounds like a perfect thing to do, if only more people knew about it.... Have a great night. Tomas
@czechglobalhosts
Thanks for sharing this post, its quite lovely. Would have love to visit petrin Hill to confirm if it's that romantic as you have stated but distance is a major constraint now, because I reside in Nigeria. But nevertheless, I love that awareness that you created on that post.
Love you!
Hopefully one day you can! It is well worth the visit... Tomas
Lols!
Am aren't Tomas, just wishing I could be there someday.
Being a student of the cultural studies it is a quite new thing for me- Love Locks. In my country in specific regions there is tradition in which love birds tights a rope with an iron wall. Both of these concepts seem quite similar.
Obviously, the authorities feel uncomfortable with so many locks but i do personally think that this is so beautiful tradition to share the love :P
Thank you so very much Tomas for sharing the light side of the cultural traditions of the Europe ;)
Stay Blessed :)
Great to hear about your thing over in your country..... Nice sharing! Thank you so much and have a great day. Tomas
Thanks for the heads up. We are coming to Prague tommorow! Cant wait!!!
Wow! Glad to hear that.... Make sure to take heaps of pics that you can then use to participate in my Prague/Czech Republic photo sharing challenge.... Have the most fabulous time. Tomas
I don't think the answer lies in ALL or NONE approach
If a bridge is so old or built so poorly that it can't support the weight there can be limitations made, creative solutions employed.
Some locations may view it as a tourism incentive, a benign act or an artistic display (many do go see these displays... heck photographers are constantly taking pictures of them)
Again some bridges or fences can't handle it and some can. We can figure it out ... to just toss the baby out with the bathwater is not the solution.
P.s. it's kinda funny that we're worrying about something as benign as this. Engineers can figure out what the bridge can handle and then those in charge can make policies. We're not engineers we are prone to just make up facts that suit our cause... let's let people who know stuff figure things out. I know some bridges just get someone to cut the locks off every so often. The lock sales are actual business, the metal recycling incentive is probably decent if they really are as heavy as people say.
And if a local government official is too lazy and just wants to BAN them outright, just because they have a personal issue, I say they should be fired or removed from office. There should be solid verifiable reasons in a case by case scenario.
Thanks ever so much for your extensive comment and some interesting views! What might seem easy for some might not work for others.... Unfortunately, most people are like sheep and just follow others.... Have a great night. Tomas
Tomas, thank you very much for broaching the subject of the padlocks. It is a fairly recent trend that has been spreading across many capitals and it is very problematic.
What is supposed to be a romantic act has become not only an eyesore, but in some cases has threatened the integrity of structures upon which these locks have been affixed.
Case in point the Pont des Arts in Paris, where in 2015 the mesh on a side of the footbridge collapsed under the weight of these padlocks. Officials estimated the weight of the locks on the bridge to be about 45 tons.
Forty five tons?! That is a tremendous amount of permanent weight stressing a structure, oftentimes an old, historical landmark.
Plus, how about the chemical disintegration of the metal keys that are thrown into the water below? I wonder what the fish (if there are any left) think of that.
I second Tomas in his plea to find alternative ways to pledge one’s undying love.
How about a contest to showcase the most romantic ways and the most romantic places around Prague to celebrate love? And Petřín Hill sure is a great place to start!
Hmmmm, you are right.... what about the keys? For sure most of them ends up being thrown in the water.... The most romantic places around Prague? Hmmm, let's see what comes next:)......
In these same countries, the number of broken romantic relationships and marriages is increasing speedily...the irony.
I hope the locks are not the cause of that:)....