PONT DES ARTS LOVE LOCK BRIDGE IN PARIS FRANCE

Pont des arts and the love padlocks

As the first metal bridge in Paris, the Pont des Arts extended to the Seine in its panoramic position for over two hundred years when its side panels were replaced with lock -proof glass. Well, perhaps it was not that exact bridge that crossed the river there, but a very similar one, when he began to become the favorite target for the love of love in the early 2000s. The Pont des Arts bridge (and its replacement, built in the early 80s) remained standing for two centuries. And then, almost out of magic, the lacketes of love began to dangle from the metal side panels of the iconic bridge in large numbers around 2008. The fantastic magical scenography of the city and the euphoria of love had identified this bridge To immortalize their names about the famous Padlocks. A promise, a narrow lap of the key and then would have blocked the padlocks to the metal structure of the bridge by throwing it into the water as a symbol of their lasting and eternal love.

Pont des arts before the love padlocks

It was Napoleon I who ordered a pedestrian bridge to the site that connected the college des quatre-nations (now Institut de France). Located on the Gauche Rive and the central square of the Palais de Louvre directly in front. The year was 1801 and the designers and craftsmen of the nation had discovered the beauty and durability of the iron. Thus was built the first metal bridge in France affectionately called passo arts or pont des arts. The bridge was designed to serve only pedestrian traffic and in its first days a toll had to be paid to cross it. The passage cost a penny. In one of its first versions the bridge had to look like a garden, with trees, planting plantations and benches that adorned the panoramic passage on the river.

The first damage due to war and its replacement

With the passing of the decades, the damage accumulated on the old bridge, from the bombs during the world wars to the collisions of Chiattte while the largest ships furrowed the river. Over the years the structure of the old bridge has been weakened so that a section of sixty feet underwent a collapse in 1979. The bridge was subsequently reopened in 1984.

Pont des arts, between scenography and magic, is among the most photographed

The Des Arts bridge was a beloved photographic destination and the pedestrian crossing between the Gauche Rive and the Louvre art museums in Paris for at least a quarter of a century. He has the advantage of having caught a viral tendency that was circulating on social media: the padlock of love. And this, linked to the romanticity of Paris, has done nothing but increase its popularity.

Apparently the idea grew as it developed and spread on social media in Russia, and so the locks arrived in the city of lights around 2008. The trend was further widespread thanks to two characters in a 2013 film, "Now You see me ". So soon thousands of couples began to prepare a padlock with their engraved names (also multiplying the illegal sellers of packets that arose in the area). They then attacked their personal lock of love to the wrought iron of the bridge and thrown the key into the Seine as a sign of their eternal love.

A metaphorical alternative to the real love locks 

The city of Paris and many clubs have denounced the growing tendency to block parts of the bridge with the classic lacketes symbols of the love of couples. This is because the collection of love packets grew wildly without control. He came to count hundreds of thousands of new padlocks in a few years and collectively weighing many tons. The risk of heavily damaging the entire structure was in the air. And in the end, a parapet of the bridge collapsed under the weight of the thousands of closed. The city of Paris then began to replace the lateral panels on the metal network with experimental glass panels, which had no room to welcome the lacketes of love as had them instead had the metal network of the original project of the bridge.

The city continued to look for solutions and encourage visitors to document their love with selfies rather than leaving behind a piece of metal on the Pont des arts or elsewhere in Paris. Perhaps, as required by the original project, the gardens could embellish the edges of the bridge and the pairs in love could plant a flower to celebrate their love story.

Love You Too is a welcome thought as Valentine's Day gift ideas for him and her. Give a padlock of virtual love to tie someone you love or that you think is important for your life.