The class comprised five ships, and were the first major steam-powered warships ordered for the Prussian Navy.

In the immediate aftermath of the First Schleswig War against Denmark, Prince Adalbert began drawing up plans for the future of the Prussian Navy; he also secured the Jade Treaty that saw the port of Wilhelmshaven transferred to Prussia from the Duchy of Oldenburg, and which provided the Prussian fleet with an outlet on the North Sea.

The ship had a cruising radius of about 1,150 nautical miles (2,130 km; 1,320 mi) at a speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).

To supplement the steam engine on long voyages abroad, she carried a full-ship rig with a total surface area of 2,200 m2 (24,000 sq ft).

[3] The keel for Arcona was laid down at the Königliche Werft (Royal Dockyard) in Danzig in 1855.