People started fastening the padlocks to cables on St Botolph's Bridge, Boston, in Lincolnshire, after it opened in 2014.
The locks supposedly symbolise the everlasting bond between two lovers.
In recent years, the trend has spread across many parts of the UK - with bridges in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire targeted.
Lincolnshire County Council said it had to remove the locks because they could potentially damage the stainless steel cables.
A spokesperson for the authority said: "Unfortunately, some are starting to rust and it has become necessary to take them off to prevent further damage.
The trend has met with some criticism, with the No Love Locks campaign calling it "an epidemic".
One local woman also questioned whether the town was an appropriate place for such acts of love.
She told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "I'm not sure Boston would be the romance centre of the UK."
The locks are being removed exactly a year after the bridge over the River Haven opened.
They will be kept at Boston Borough Council's headquarters in the town for 21 days if anyone wants to claim them back.

The BBC revealed in January it understood Adidas would terminate the deal as a direct result of the doping scandal sweeping the sport.
An IAAF statement on Friday said: "Our commercial relationship concludes at the end of 2016."
The original 11-year agreement started in 2008.
Sources told the BBC earlier this year it was worth, in terms of cash and product, as much as about $8m (£6.3m) per year.
Adidas said the decision was mutual and added "we would like to thank the IAAF for a successful and professional co-operation".

Pre-tax profit fell 49.7% to Â£27.7m in the first half of the year ending 30th June,
The firm said its focus for the period had been operational improvements, which meant its "financial performance would inevitably lag behind".
Ladbrokes boss Richard Glynn said it was now "well positioned for growth".
"We have made substantial progress. We now have the products, the platforms, the people and the brand in place to deliver," he added.
Ladbrokes formed a tie-up with software developer Playtech last year and as a result switched its gaming products to a new system.
The firm admitted the switch over had caused more disruption than expected, but said it was now complete.
Ladbrokes said it had also completed the replacement of 9,000 of its gaming machines with more sophisticated models.
It also closed 46 of its "under performing" shops in the first half, nearing its target of 50 for the year. It said further shop closures beyond this were "inevitable", but it was too early to specify the number.
The firm said its performance in the UK was hit by "industry-wide customer friendly results" in both the January football and horse racing in June.
And it said its adherence to the The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) voluntary industry code of conduct had also had "a clear impact on revenues".
The code, which enables players to set spend and time limits on gaming machines, aims to promote responsible gambling.
However, it said its World Cup performance had been "strong" with bets on mobiles up 1,100%.
"The board remains confident of the outlook for the business and in delivering a result in line with its expectations for the current year," it added.
Shares in Ladbrokes rose 3% in early trading. Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram said the fall in profit was in line with expectations.
"The results are unquestionably poor but they are in line with forecasts. It's also a positive narrative from Ladbrokes in that it has focused on all the things it is implementing to put it right," he added.
Love locks on a new river footbridge are being removed because of fears they are damaging the structure.
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Adidas, the IAAF's biggest sponsor, has announced it is ending its sponsorship deal with athletics' world governing body three years early.
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Bookmaker Ladbrokes has reported a sharp fall in profit, despite saying it had had a "good World Cup" performance.