The Karlsruhe class of light cruisers was a pair of two ships built for the German Imperial Navy before the start of World War I.

Karlsruhe joined the fleet in January 1914, but fitting out work lasted slightly longer on her sister; Rostock was commissioned the following month.

Karlsruhe was assigned to overseas duty in the Caribbean, arriving on station in July 1914, days before the outbreak of World War I.

Once the war began, she armed the passenger liner SS Kronprinz Wilhelm so it could raid British shipping.

Karlsruhe and Rostock carried a number of smaller vessels, including one picket boat, one barge, one cutter, two yawls, and two dinghies.

[1] Karlsruhe and Rostock were powered by two sets of Marine-type steam turbines, each of which drove a three-bladed screw 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in) in diameter.

[5] Once the war began, she armed the passenger liner SS Kronprinz Wilhelm so it could operate as a commerce raider, but while the ships were transferring equipment, British cruisers located them and pursued Karlsruhe.

Off the Brazilian coast, she captured or sank sixteen ships totaling 72,805 gross register tons (GRT) while eluding her pursuers.

[7] While en route on 4 November 1914, a spontaneous internal explosion destroyed the ship and killed the majority of the crew, including her captain.

[8] Rostock served with the High Seas Fleet as a leader of torpedo boat flotillas for the duration of her career.

[2] She served with the screens for both Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group on operations against the British coast and the Battle of Dogger Bank.

In April 1916, she again screened the battlecruisers during the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft, during which Rostock and five other cruisers briefly engaged the British Harwich Force.

She saw major action at Jutland and frequently engaged British light forces, including assisting in the destruction of the destroyers HMS Nomad and Nestor.

To prevent Rostock's capture, the Germans set scuttling charges aboard her and took off the crew before firing torpedoes into the disabled cruiser to ensure she sank.