 Königsberg was ordered under the contract name " Ersatz Meteor " and was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel on 12 January 1905 . She was launched on 12 December 1905 , when the Oberbürgermeister of Königsberg , Siegfried <unk> , christened the ship , after which fitting @-@ out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet for sea trials on 6 April 1907 . Her trials were interrupted at the beginning of June when she was tasked with escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II 's yacht Hohenzollern during three sailing regattas including Kiel Week . The two ships then cruised the North Sea and stopped at Nordkapp , where from 3 to 6 August , Wilhelm II met Czar Nicholas II of Russia . After returning to Germany , Königsberg resumed her sea trials , which lasted from 9 August to 9 September . She visited her namesake city from 21 to 23 September and was later assigned to the fleet scouting forces to replace the cruiser Medusa on 5 November . At this time , Königsberg was again used to escort Wilhelm II 's yacht , this time in company with the new armored cruiser Scharnhorst and the dispatch boat Sleipner on a visit to Britain . The ships stopped in Portsmouth and the Thames , and were visited by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands . 
