Couples are celebrating Valentine’s Day in Slovakia with a romantic trip to a ‘love bank’

A village in Slovakia has opened the world’s first “love bank” in a bid to become the next romantic getaway for Europe’s loved-up travellers.

The Epicentrum of Love in Banska Stiavnic lets couples “deposit” romantic tokens, such as love letters or mementos, in one of 10,000 tiny drawers in the building’s dedicated underground vault.

The bank is part of a special exhibition dedicated to the world’s longest love poem, Marina. Published in 1846, the epic 2,900-line work by Slovak poet Andrej Sladkovic describes the writer’s unrequited love for his muse, Marina Pischlova.

Marina and Andrej fell in love at the age of 16, but her parents disapproved of the match and forced her to marry a wealthy gingerbread maker. The Epicentrum of Love is based in Marina’s former home, where Slovak couples have long made the pilgrimage to leave padlocks and other mementos on the building’s iron railings.

As well as the love bank, the centre also provides a special “love-o-metre” where couples can measure their romantic devotion.

Visitors can only deposit items into the love bank on certain days. To book your slot, visit the Epicentrum of Love website by clicking here.