 SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia ( " Empress and Queen Maria Theresa " ) was an armored cruiser used by the imperial Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy from 1895 to 1917 ; she was the first ship of that type built by the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy . The ship was a unique design , built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste ; she was laid down in July 1891 , launched in April 1893 , and completed in November 1894 . Armed with a main battery of two 24 @-@ centimeter ( 9 @.@ 4 in ) guns and eight 15 cm ( 5 @.@ 9 in ) guns , the ship provided the basis for two subsequent armored cruiser designs for the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy . 
