The class design introduced the combined clipper and ram bow and the blocky sides that typified later German armored cruisers.

At the same time, many elements of the naval command espoused the commerce raiding strategy of the French Jeune École (Young School).

[3] Attempts to secure the return of funds for "K" continued over the next three years, and included efforts in 1892 by Reichskanzler (Chancellor) Leo von Caprivi to convince the parliament to authorize construction.

By this time, the strategic confusion that marked the 1880s had come to a head; Alfred von Tirpitz had recently become the chief of staff at the Kaiserliches Oberkommando der Marine (Imperial Naval High Command), and he was finalizing his famous memorandum, Dienstschrift IX, which laid out his plans for the future development of the navy.

To make matters worse, RMA was responsible for designing new warships, but they had no input on strategic objectives or war plans, which were the high command's remit.

The question remained open as to whether to retain the traditional two-shaft propulsion system or repeat the three-shaft arrangement pioneered with Kaiserin Augusta.

[7][b] The Reichstag believed the orders for these ships indicated that the navy's preferences for larger, more expensive battleships had shifted toward cheaper cruisers, and thus voted unanimously for the measures.

The resulting design were smaller scale versions of the contemporary Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleships; they featured the same fore military mast and pole mainmast and a combination of gun turrets and casemates for the secondary battery.

Dietrich modeled the ship's profile, particularly the bow shape, on the contemporary United States cruiser USS Brooklyn.

[10][11] The ships' design set a precedent for later armored cruisers, with large, bulky sides and a combined clipper bow and ram.

After their reconstruction into training ships, the crew was substantially enlarged to incorporate the trainees, with 26 officers and 658 sailors, 75 of whom were naval cadets and 300 others were cabin boys.

The fire boxes for the Belleville boilers were smaller and lacked economizers, which caused them to vent exhaust at much higher temperatures.

Victoria Louise and Hertha were equipped with four electricity generators with a combined output of 224 to 271 kilowatts (300 to 363 hp) at 110 Volts; the last three ships had three generators with a total output of 169 to 183 kW (227 to 245 hp) at 110 V.[16] The ships' primary armament consisted of two 21 cm SK L/40 C/97 built-up guns in single gun turrets, one forward and one aft.

[26] For defense against torpedo boats, the ships also carried ten 8.8 cm SK L/30 naval guns, and an eleventh was added during the modernization.

[16] Early in her career, while serving in the gunnery training school, Vineta received a trainable torpedo tube on the starboard broadside position for testing purposes.

[29] Between 1905 and 1909, all five ships of the class underwent a modernization that included removing the heavy military mast to reduce topweight, which improved their handling in turns.

[38] While patrolling in the eastern Baltic Sea, she was attacked unsuccessfully by the British submarine HMS E1 in October 1914,[39] the only time a ship of the class encountered enemy forces during the war.

[40][41] The ship's first major operation was a cruise to the Mediterranean Sea to escort Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht, Hohenzollern; while there, Hertha received orders to join the East Asia Squadron.

Her crew saw significant action during the Boxer Uprising in 1900; Hertha contributed landing parties to the Seymour Expedition and to the force that captured the Taku Forts.

In addition, her Niclausse boilers proved to be troublesome throughout her career, which reduced her usefulness on foreign stations, where maintenance facilities were less available.

Her poorly performing boilers nevertheless convinced the naval command to standardize on proven types, and eventually develop its own system.

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.

[48] 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.

[49][50] Vineta served abroad in the American Station for the first several years of her career to protect German interests in the region.

During her deployment in the Americas, she participated in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–1903 and shelled several Venezuelan fortresses, including the bombardment of Fort San Carlos.

[54][55] During another training voyage to the Caribbean Sea in early 1914, she embarked the deposed Haitian president Michel Oreste as he fled into exile.

She saw action during the Boxer Uprising in Qing China in 1900, contributing a landing party to the force that captured the Taku Forts and the subsequent Seymour Expedition.

At the start of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904, Hansa evacuated German nationals from Korea, the primary location of the fighting.

Over the next few years, she embarked on numerous training cruises, including a major voyage to the Mediterranean Sea in 1909–1910 and two to the United States in 1911–1912 and 1913.

A final overseas voyage to the Mediterranean ended in March 1914, and the outbreak of World War I in July interrupted her next planned training cruise.