As a result, she led a fairly uneventful career; in addition to conducting shooting practice, she also participated in training exercises with the fleet between 1901 and 1904.

Two major cruises to the Mediterranean took place in 1908 and 1909, and in 1910, Freya crossed the Atlantic to visit Mexico, along with islands in the Caribbean Sea.

At the outbreak of World War I, Freya was mobilized into V Scouting Group, but served in front-line duty only briefly.

In the early 1890s, elements in the German naval command structure grappled with what type of cruiser ought to be built to fulfill the various needs of the fleet.

The experience of Japanese cruisers during the contemporaneous First Sino-Japanese War showed the benefit of larger 21 cm (8.3 in) guns, which were adopted for the main battery of the Victoria Louise class.

The ship's superstructure included a large conning tower forward and a smaller deck house further aft.

The ship had a range of approximately 3,412 nautical miles (6,319 km; 3,926 mi) at the more economical speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).

[5] Between 1905 and 1907, Freya underwent a major reconstruction at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Wilhelmshaven to convert her into a training ship] for naval cadets.

[5] Some parts of the ship, including the casemates for the 15 cm guns that were removed, were converted into berthing spaces for cadets.

She was launched on 27 April 1897; Prince Heinrich of Prussia gave a speech at the ceremony and Queen Charlotte of Württemberg christened the ship.

After completing fitting-out work, she began builder's sea trials, which revealed significant problems with her boilers, prompting the navy to issue a formal complaint to the manufacturer, Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, which was forced to provide replacements.

During this period, she was officially assigned to II Division of I Battle Squadron, replacing the old ironclad warship Sachsen, though she was not yet ready for active service.

She completed a short trials period, operating from Wilhelmshaven and then Kiel, before embarking her first class of trainees in early May.

[11][12] Freya next embarked on a major training cruise on 19 July that included visits to Norway, various ports on the Atlantic coast of Europe, and the Canary Islands before entering the Mediterranean Sea.

There, Freya visited a number of cities, including Venice, Italy, Beirut in the Ottoman Empire, and Alexandria in the Khedivate of Egypt.

[13] In August, Freya represented Germany at celebrations in Halifax, Canada, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Canadian Parliament.

[13] Freya's third major cruise began on 2 June 1909, first with a visit to Norway, followed by a short return to Cuxhaven and then Wilhelmshaven, to make preparations to go abroad.

She steamed as far as the eastern Mediterranean, visiting Alexandria again, where she rendered assistance after a major fire in the city, along with ports in the Levant.

She then moved to Kiel, where she took on another crew of cadets for a short training cruise to Norwegian waters that ended in Wilhelmshaven on 20 July.

[16] On 1 August 1910, Freya departed for her next major voyage overseas; unlike previous years that included numerous stops while on the way, the ship steamed directly to Mexico with a special envoy aboard.

On 16 September, the ship was present for the unveiling of a monument to Alexander von Humboldt, a German explorer and geographer who had surveyed much of Mexico in 1803–1804.

She was briefly commanded KzS Max Schlicht from 4 to 27 August, before being replaced by Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) Eduard Bartels.

[13] The ship got underway for the first time again on 7 August for initial trials; it was found that her badly fouled hull had reduced her top speed by about 1 knot (1.9 km/h; 1.2 mph), but there were no available dry docks to correct the problem.

Two men were killed in the accident, one of whom drowned in the torpedo room and the other a diver who attempted to close the outer door but was sucked into the tube by suction from the pumps inside.

She embarked on her final voyage under the Imperial Navy's ensign on 20 September 1918, sailing from Flensburg to Kiel to be dry-docked on 7 October.