the east choir, where it remained until the restoration of 1999. The organ was made by the organist Van Petegem of Ghent. Archaeology and restorations Due to severe cracks in the tower of the church, in 1993 it was necessary to start the restoration of the building. On that occasion the foundations of the church were inspected. It was discovered that they were structurally sound, but they revealed some interesting features that pushed the archaeologist to plan a systematic research in the church. Work started in 1999 and lasted until 2002 and foreseen the excavation of the total surface of the church and its restoration. A European project was launched that aimed at the complete study of the building and at the reconstruction of its original 10th-century appearance by following a rigid scientifically supervised procedure. As the church was a used religious building, it was also important to preserve its role as an aggregation point for the local community. Article 11 of the Venice Charter for the restoration of buildings says: The valid contributions of all periods to the building of a monument must be respected, since unity of style is not the aim of a restoration. When a building includes the superimposed work of different periods, the revealing of the underlying state can only be justified in exceptional circumstances and when what is removed is of little interest and the material which is brought to light is of great historical, archaeological or aesthetic value, and its state of preservation good enough to justify the action. Evaluation of the importance of the elements involved and the decision as to what may be destroyed cannot rest solely on the individual in charge of the work. Saint Laurentius church was proven to be one of the few preserved Ottonian buildings of the region and it was decided to restore the traces of its original structure and integrate the missing elements following thorough research and comparison with similar buildings of the same period. Each integration was made with recognizable materials, using non-permanent techniques to facilitate the removal in case of future restorations. Although this restoration removed almost completely the traces of the evolution of the building through centuries, the appearance of the church was documented and it is shown today thanks to a digital application that gives to visitors some information about all the research done on the church. Excavations Excavations revealed that