 Kaiser Friedrich III 's keel was laid on 5 March 1895 , at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven , under construction number 22 . Kaiser Wilhelm II , the son of the ship 's namesake , hammered the first rivet into the keel . She was ordered under the contract name Ersatz Preussen , to replace the elderly armored frigate Preussen . Kaiser Friedrich III was launched on 1 July 1896 and Wilhelm II was again present , this time to give the launching speech . The ship was commissioned on 7 October 1898 and began sea trials in the Baltic Sea . 
