The Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank) is located on Kentmanni and Estonia pst. in central Tallinn, and has seen around 20 instances in as many years of drivers, generally those driving under the influence of alcohol, hit its exterior wall.

Part of the issue is the central bank's building lies adjacent to a left turn, if coming from Freedom Square (Vabaduse väljak) and its traffic lights, around 150 meters away. Vehicles have been known to speed along this stretch of Estonia pst. and run out of road at the turn, hitting the bank building.

"For the past 20 years, drivers speeding across Freedom Square have rammed the bank building's wall around twenty times. There have been accidents on the curve by Eesti Pank where a drunk driver has driven into the bank's wall. To prevent this, a stone barrier has now been brought there, " the bank said.

The Saaremaa-quarried dolomite blocks will prevent stray vehicles hitting the bank itself. The blockes are irregular shapes and will be "greened" by the next summer.

The bank's management also recalled the April 2007 "Bronze Soldier Night" riots, though the building remained adequately protected during those incidents.

Much of the bank's real estate is state owned, noted Rait Roosve, adviser to the Bank of Estonina board.

"We have quite a lot — or let's say, an unbelievably large amount of property in the Eesti Pank quarter, and that property doesn't belong to us, it belongs to the Republic of Estonia, or to put it more precisely, to the people of Estonia, and we have an obligation to guard and protect it at the maximum level," he said

Since the area is public urban space, the Bank of Estonia says it cannot cannot and does not want to build a wall there. At the same time, the row of blocks being installed must ensure the safety of ordinary traffic and stop cars and small trucks.

It is not, however, a national defense structure, ;the stones will not be sufficient to defend the building from armored vehicles such as tanks, for instance..

"This is Estonian national stone, limestone, specifically dolomite, and these have been brought from Kaarma on Saaremaa. It will certainly slow a tank, but considering the mass of these dolomite blocks and the mass of a tank, purely physically or mechanically the victory is certainly on the tank's side. But it also won't allow a tank to ram straight into our wall," Roosve continued.

The project, carried out in cooperation with Tallinn city government, will be completed by the end of next week. Grasses planted by the stones should conceal them come next summer, making the area in front of the bank on Kentmanni tänav greener, planners say.

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