 Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was laid down on 1 June 1891 , launched on 29 April 1893 , and commissioned into the fleet in November 1894 . In 1895 , Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria took a squadron of warships , including Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia , to Germany to participate in the celebrations for the opening of the Kiel Canal . The squadron called on the port of Brest , France on the way , and stopped in Portsmouth on the return voyage . In early 1897 , the ship joined the massive international fleet that demonstrated off Crete to protest the Greek annexation of the island from the Ottoman Empire . The Austro @-@ Hungarian fleet was the third largest contingent , after the Italians and British . The Austro @-@ Hungarians and Germans were dissatisfied with the compromise worked out , and so withdrew their contingents early , in March 1898 . 
