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Many rivers have locks, but not only the kind that lower or raise boats in its water. You may have seen them before, but quite honestly, I never had. On our recent visit to Europe, I saw them for the first time. There were tons of padlocks hanging from the Hohenzollern Bridge, in Cologne (Koln), Germany…an estimated 45 tons, to be exact. Some counters have said there are more than 50,000 locks hanging from that one bridge.

Our tour guide pointed them out to us, and told us why they are there. I might have never known they were there, but the couples who put them there certainly do. They are called love locks. Couples inscribe their names, sometimes a date or message, on a padlock, fasten it to a bridge, and throw the key in the river. The act implies their love for one another has been locked together and the key has been thrown away. There are literally thousands of locks not only hanging from that bridge, but in many other places in Europe. The original locks were fastened to the bridge itself, but now there are so many of them that some are fastened to other locks that were already hanging from the bridge. In case someone wasn’t aware of the tradition and left home without a lock, amazingly, several nearby shops sell them. Some will even engrave them for you.

I can’t recall ever seeing this tradition in our dear ole U.S. of A., but don’t let this give you love birds any ideas. We have tended to be more of the climb-the-local-water-tower type and spray paint Billy Bob loves Thelma Lou Jean on the side of the tank. If Billy Bob didn’t have a girl at the time, he just painted Billy Bob wuz here. He’s not still there, because the local police may have provided him free transportation to another place where they gave him complimentary lodging! Some also announced their love by spray painting the side of a bridge, overpass, or train car. Others have carved their names or initials in the side of a tree or even on a desktop. I must confess that hanging love locks seems a bit more romantic than graffiti!

Many cities throughout Europe, especially those with rivers and bridges, claim to have begun this tradition. Actually, I have now read that several major cities in the U.S. do have bridges with love locks. Some cities have passed laws that prohibit such behavior and the lock-hanging villains are subject to a fine. Some cities are cutting the locks off and throwing them away.

Hallmark even made a romantic movie that centered around this ceremonial act of commitment. It was titled Love Locks. That movie was set in Paris. Of course, Paris, the city of love, claims to have been the first to have love locks, but so do several other cities.

Somehow, I believe the act of exchanging wedding rings and wearing them may still be one of the best demonstrations of a love commitment. After all, how many people are going to see your name on a padlock hanging from a bridge. If they see you and the ring on your finger, they know. 

Love locks may not be the best way to show our commitment of love for someone, but they are interesting. Showing love is certainly not a bad thing. God has even demonstrated his love for us. He didn’t do it by hanging a lock on a bridge. He did it by allowing his Son to be hung on a cross!