German government more than 100 million marks. 1901–1910 went to Kiel after returning from the expedition to China, where on 14 August KAdm Fischel raised his flag aboard the ship. She was assigned to I Squadron as the second command flagship for the annual autumn maneuvers. These exercises were interrupted by the visit from Nicholas II of Russia, who came aboard . After the maneuvers, Fischel was replaced by KAdm Curt von Prittwitz und Gaffron on 24 October. In late 1901, the fleet went on a cruise to Norway, during which stopped in Oslo. During the months of December, January, and February, the ship was in drydock for major repair work. The pattern of training for 1902 remained unchanged from previous years; I Squadron went on a major training cruise that started on 25 April. The squadron initially steamed to Norwegian waters, then rounded the northern tip of Scotland, and stopped in Irish waters. The ships returned to Kiel on 28 May. then participated in the annual autumn maneuvers, after which she was decommissioned, with the new battleship taking her place as second command flagship. The four class battleships were taken out of service for a major reconstruction. The work to was done at the shipyard in Wilhelmshaven. The work included increasing the ship's coal storage capacity and adding a pair of 10.5 cm guns. The plans had initially called for the center 28 cm turret to be replaced with an armored battery of medium-caliber guns, but this proved to be prohibitively expensive. was the last ship of her class to complete her reconstruction, which was finished on 14 December 1905. On 1 January 1906 she was assigned to II Squadron and served as the flagship of first KAdm Henning von Holtzendorff, and then during the autumn maneuvers of KAdm Adolf Paschen. The fleet conducted its normal routine of individual and unit training, interrupted only by a cruise to Norway from mid-July to early August. The annual autumn maneuvers occurred as usual. served as the second command flagship in I Squadron of the newly created High Seas Fleet, but at the end of the 1906 training year, she was removed from active duty and her place was taken by the new battleship . Beginning on 1 October 1907, was assigned to the Reserve Squadron in the North Sea, which had been created in early 1907 to train new crews. Her