The present crypt is generally believed to be a survival of Otto's church, which, on the basis of the decorative eagle-capitals at the confessio. This used to be accessed by means of a stairway in the sacristy behind the apse, but is now reached via a little garden just to the left of the transept. It is usually inaccessible to visitors, despite a restoration in 1975. The vaulting is held up by two rows of little columns, three on each side. Some of the cushion capitals display the Imperial eagle, rather crudely carved, and these obviously derive from the first church.