'cadenas d' amour'

Everyone knows Paris as ‘the romance capital’ and the ‘city for lovers’. Two years ago, a new fad started, when love-struck sweethearts started to lock padlocks onto the chain link fence on the Passerelle des Arts, which crosses from the left bank to the Louvre museum. The love padlocks, called ‘cadenas d’amour’, multiplied until there were more than 2,000 love tokens on the bridge, each one with an engraved message of love. After locking the love padlock onto the fence, the lovers tossed the keys into the Seine river – a sign of their eternal love.

The love lock craze is not exclusive to Paris. Similar padlocks can also be found on fences and bridges in Rome, Moscow, Prague, Brussels and Mount Huang in China. It is unclear who started the fashion. Italians claim it was sparked by the romantic novel I Want You by Federico Moccia and is merely a case of life imitating art. In Moccia's book the main characters attach a padlock to the Ponte Milvio Bridge in Rome, kiss and throw away the key.

Others suggest that it originated in China where padlocks cover every metal pole and fence of Mount Huang. It is the custom for couples to 'lock their souls together' and throw the key into the valleys of mist. However, breaking up is a little more difficult. The only way to release your souls is to find the key and unlock your padlock. (contents taken from several articles)