The Origins of the Lovelock Tradition
Lovelocks are now seen all over the world, from bridges in Paris to mountains in China but where did the tradition originally start? There are a few different stories out there that it’s difficult to know which one to believe! Here’s what I learned when I looked into it a little bit more.
The Lovelock Tradition
So for those who’ve not come across the tradition before, a lovelock is a padlock of some sort, whether heart shaped or sometimes just a simple padlock shape. Some are coloured and others engraved with initials, and many are keyless or self lock, and those that have a key end up keyless!
The ritual is then for two lovers to take one of these keyless padlocks and leave it attached to a bridge or railings at a beautiful location or somewhere considered auspicious or lucky, as a wish for everlasting love. With the padlock acting as a symbol of an unbreakable bond between them.
Lovelocks, Paris
Auspicious locations
The first time I discovered this unique tradition was when travelling in China in the winter of 2011. My husband and I found them at the top of one of China’s holy Buddhist mountains, Mount Emei in the Sichuan Province.
We had just spent a very long day climbing the never ending staircase up the mountain side to the cold, snow capped summit. We arrived at dawn just before the most incredible sunrise with breath taking views across the landscape under the most beautiful golden temple, and in front of us attached to the railings along the cliffside were tons of frosted little lovelocks.
Frosted lovelocks Mount Emei, China
Completely in awe of the magical scenery at the top of Mount Emei and the special moment we were experiencing, we decided to join our fellow ‘love lockers’ and leave a keyless padlock of our own attached to the railings at the very top of the mountain. Where hopefully, it would sit forever gathering frost and watching the most epic sunrises for eternity!
Chinese folklore
Inspired by my experience and intrigued as to where the tradition actually originated, I did a little research online when I returned home to find out if the tradition actually originated in China. I found a handful of blog posts that said the same thing, and that according to Chinese folklore the lovelocks seen at auspicious places across the country were apparently inspired by a very tragic, ancient tale of forbidden love at another holy Buddhist mountain in China.
The story centres around two lovers in Huangshan who were unable to cement their love for one another by marriage, possibly forbidden by their families for some reason. Heartbroken by this decision they decided to jump to their death, hand in hand from the top of Mount Huangshan in an attempt to immortalise their love for one another.
Mount Huangshan, China
And so many people believe that it was these events at the top of this mountain in Huangshan that inspired worldwide lovelock tradition, with the idea of locking your love and throwing away the key as a wish or promise of everlasting love.
Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia
However, according to The 99% Invisible City book by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt the origins of the lovelock can be traced back to the story of a school teacher named Nada and an army officer named Relja in the small Serbian town of Vrnjacka Banja.
The couple pledged their love for one another whilst standing on a local bridge before Relja was sent off to fight in World War I. This story was then captured and passed forth in a poem titled “Prayer for Love” by Desanka Maksimovic which many believe was the original inspired the tradition seen all over the world.
Wikipedia also seems to back this particular version of the story though it is said, many do still believe the Lovelocks origins were in ancient China and not Serbia. Either way, this tradition has inspired many lovers across the world to follow suit and both stories are equally romantic and very much rooted in the powerful nature of love.