Love Locks: New German Custom Emerges

According to The Local, a new custom has emerged centred in the German city of Cologne. Over one thousand "love locks" have appeared along a pedestrian path on a bridge over the Rhine river. Couples decorate the padlocks with their initials, attach them, and throw the key into the river below as a sign of their everlasting love.

Being only a couple of years old, this new custom has baffled folklorists who are attempting to find the original source of the love locks. A similar tradition was found in Italy, though researchers are not yet sure about a definite connection.

Other cities in Germany have also picked up the custom - love locks have also been found in Bottrop and Oberhausen.