Most Ljubavi
Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia
The Bridge Most Ljubavi, more commonly known as the "Bridge of Love," is situated in Serbia in the town of Vrnjačka Banja. Vrnjačka Banja is located about two and a half hours north of Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia.
With its proximity to Belgrade and colorfully romantic history, it has become a popular tourist destination for both local and international Serbian travelers. But an even stronger draw to the site comes from local couples who are keen to add their lock of devotion to the already ample existing collection.
This has given the site another nickname - Love Lock. Alternately, the site is sometimes referred to as Love Padlock or simply Padlock (not to be confused with the similarly-named White Overpass from Vranje, another town located about three hours north-northwest of Vrnjačka Banja).
Most Ljubavi's locks date back at least a century to the early 20th century when Serbia and Greece faced off in war. A schoolteacher named Nada was seeing a young Serbian soldier by the name of Reija. They frequently met at the Most Ljubavi during their courtship. As so many young couples do, they pledged their love and commitment to each other just before Reija marched off to battle.
Serbia did not fare well in the war and ultimately the Serbians' war efforts were unsuccessful. After the defeat of the Serbian army, Reija stayed on in Corfu, a small town sitting right on the border between Greece and Serbia on the Grecian side. He remained because he had fallen in love with a local Greek girl. Reija and Nada never saw one another again.
But worse than this rejection and abandonment was that Nada never got over being thrown over. She pined and then she literally wasted away from unrequited love. She passed soon after and the other single and attached ladies in her town took notice.
Determining that their fates would be different than the unfortunate Nada's, girls took to the streets, each with a Love lock and key literally in hand, and headed for Nada and Reija's meeting place. They wrote their name and the name of their beloved on the face of their locks, attaching them together in chain link fashion. Then they would symbolically throw their keys into the river to protect their love.
Over the decades, the site has become so covered in locks that the structure beneath is now almost totally obscured. Were it not for the ground beneath their feet and the river flowing below that, no one might even realize the overpass exists!
The south region of Serbia has many colorful and memorable stories, poems and superstitions woven into its lengthy history, but one stands out. It is a poem called "A Prayer for Love" by Serbian poetess Desanka Maksimović.
After a time, the tradition of attaching locks and throwing keys into the river began to fade. Young couples forgot about Nada and Reija and Nada's untimely fate. The existing locks became a curiosity - a tourist attraction at best. But that all changed when Desanka Maksimović, who used to regularly visit the nearby spa in Vrnjačka Banja, heard the story.
She was so moved by the story of Nada and Reija and the tradition that had for a time sprung up around it that she composed a verse called Molitva za Ljubavi ("A Prayer for Love"). As a prominent poetess, Maksimovic's verse rekindled interest in Nada and Reija's story and the tradition surrounding it.
Once again, young couples were making the trek to the site to add their padlocks and discard the keys into the river. But this time, it wasn't just newly attached or promised pairs but long-married partners celebrating weddings and anniversaries that were participating in the tradition.
Because of Maksimovic's international visibility, the tradition began to catch on in other cities as well, most notably the City of Love itself, Paris. All over the world today, couples remember Nada and Reija and travel to places where this tradition is practiced, often taking commemorative photos and even noting down the GPS coordinates for their memory books.
Surprisingly, this question is rarely asked. It would seem people don't much care whether Nada and Reija existed in the flesh or whether the story is historically accurate. While the custom of meeting at overpasses and declaring lifelong love just prior to war is authentically Serbian, it is also practiced all over the world.
People resonate with the symbolism, the romance, the purity and innocence of such gestures and want to participate.
Vrnjačka Banja has a unique attitude towards the locks, the Serbian site and the continual influx of love-struck pilgrims making their way there.
Unlike in other cities, where locks are frequently removed in the interests of structural integrity or pollution of waterways, the Vrnjačka Banja officials protect the site with the utmost care and encourage continuation of the tradition.
Their attitude is really quite beautiful! The officials welcome such expressions of love, saying that love is one of the few truly "renewable resources" and should be celebrated (for the full report visit the ABC News story).
Not just that - officials don't want to bring bad luck to any of the couples who have added their Love lock and initials to the site! Their attitude is that the structural integrity of the overpass itself is solid and can more than bear the weight of existing and new locks now and in the future.
Vrnjačka Banja's mineral hot springs have made the town a popular destination for locals and tourists alike.
Some come for physical healing, some come for emotional healing and many couples come to immerse themselves in a culture that continues to celebrate, protect and preserve romantic love, past, present and far into the future.