Goodbye my Lover

Pont des Arts locks removal - Paris

Paris' Pont des Arts has said goodbye to its famous love locks.

It is now a well-known fact that the Pont des Arts was close to crumbling down into the Seine river due to over 4 tonnes of metal locks making it that much heavier. For safety and protection of heritage reasons, it was decided that the locks were to be removed.

Lovers around the world are now two kinds of disappointed :

- for seeing their chance of hanging their own lock to the bridge at a later time annihilated, or
- for seeing their love lock taken down

In the last few years, the bridge had been so chock-full of locks that people had started hanging theirs on every bannister around the bridge as well as on other monuments in Paris.

The tradition that started in Rome (Italy) had spread across Europe quickly and the Pont des Arts had become the location in Paris to hang a lock, most times decorated or engraved, with a significant other. A couple of years ago, for the exact same reasons, the city of Rome has completely banned lock-hanging from every monument.

Some same measures may be taken in Paris. In the meantime, the Pont des Arts is still as beautiful as ever. The locks have been temporarily replaced with an art exhibit.

Although I never hung a lock there, I took a stroll across the bridge several times (alone or accompanied) and have found beauty in its crowded state. But it would have been a shame to see it destroyed.

Ah, the overwelming power of love.