Love Locks
The Pont des Arts is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the River Seine and links the Institute du France and the Palais du Louvre.
The original bridge was built in the early 1800’s under the reign of Napoleon 1. It was the first metal bridge of its kind in Paris. In 1976 the bridge was found to have multiple deficiencies due to bombardments that took place during World War 1 and World War 2 as well as many collisions by boats. The bridge was closed to pedestrians in 1977 and suffered a partial collapse when a barge rammed into it.
The present bridge was constructed between 1981 and 1984. Today the bridge is also a gathering for artists, painters and photographers with frequent art exhibitions taking place. It’s also famous for the love locks that cover the length of the bridge. Couples place a lock with their names engraved on them on the bridge and then throw the key into the Seine as a romantic gesture. The problem in recent years is that weight of the locks have started to damage the bridge and in fact in June of this year part of the bridge parapet collapsed under all that weight.
We bought a lock to take with us, but I didn’t know the part about the key. It’s a combination lock LOL! Oh well, it’s better than nothing :).
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July 30, 2014 at 7:33 am
You captured the love perfectly with these shots by the way.
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July 30, 2014 at 7:35 am
Thanks so much Cindy.
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July 30, 2014 at 11:24 am
Thanks Cindy. There’s a;so vendors that sell locks all along the bring. There’s a market for everything.
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July 30, 2014 at 11:22 am
No doubt :).
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July 30, 2014 at 8:31 pm
My first sighting of these small tokens of affection was on the Golden Gate Bridge a few years ago. But these are truly omnipresent in a sweeping gesture to nature and human nature.
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July 30, 2014 at 7:33 am
They are aren’t they 🙂
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July 30, 2014 at 11:22 am
Wow! That’s a lot of weight! Never thought it would collapse, great story and pictures, Edith!
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July 30, 2014 at 7:34 am
Thanks so much Anne.
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July 30, 2014 at 11:22 am
woah, that’s crazy, that’s awesome! 🙂
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July 30, 2014 at 7:54 am
Thank you so much Jatin. I appreciate the visit and the comments.
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July 30, 2014 at 11:24 am
Impressive, isn’t it?
This is my view of that bridge: https://solaner.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/lock-up-the-love/
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July 30, 2014 at 8:00 am
Thank you!
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July 30, 2014 at 11:26 am
🙂
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July 30, 2014 at 11:34 am
So interesting!
http://www.sid-thewanderer.com
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July 30, 2014 at 11:56 am
Thanks Joshi.
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July 30, 2014 at 6:23 pm
Great shots Edith. The phenom seems to have gone global. Do you know if it all started in Paris?
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July 30, 2014 at 3:12 pm
Thank you and that’s a really great question. I didn’t know the answer to that but Wikipedia did. Here’s the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_lock It seems this tradition dates back almost 100 years. Who knew?
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July 30, 2014 at 6:28 pm
I have heard of this before and you have conveyed through these images of how cool it is. I have to get to Paris some day.
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July 31, 2014 at 7:55 am
Thanks Len.
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July 31, 2014 at 10:28 am
How cool is this? Nice photos, Edith!
This is a great idea and you captured the scene perfectly.
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July 31, 2014 at 7:57 am
Thanks so much Jimi.
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July 31, 2014 at 10:28 am
I just love the whole idea of those locks, and these photographs are really wonderful, Edith.
Have a great weekend!
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August 1, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Thank you Lisa. You have a great weekend too.
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August 1, 2014 at 6:38 pm