The ''Kaiser Franz Joseph I'' class (sometimes called the ''Kaiser Franz Josef I'' class) was a
class
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of two
protected cruisers built for the
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...
. Named for Austro-Hungarian Emperor
Franz Joseph I, the class comprised and . Construction took place throughout the late 1880s, with both ships being laid down in 1888. ''Kaiser Franz Joseph I'' was built by
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) ("Technical Establishment of Trieste") was a private shipbuilding company based in Trieste from the mid-19th to early 20th century, and the most important naval shipbuilding firm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ...
in
Trieste, while ''Kaiserin Elisabeth'' was built at the Pola Navy Yard in
Pola Pola or POLA may refer to:
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*House of Pola, an Italian noble family
*Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress
*Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer
*Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter
*Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...
. The ''Kaiser Franz Joseph I''-class ships were the first protected cruisers constructed by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. ''Kaiser Franz Joseph I'' was the first ship of the class to be commissioned into the fleet in July 1890. She was followed by ''Kaiserin Elisabeth'' in November 1892.
Constructed in response to the Italian cruisers and , the design of the ''Kaiser Franz Joseph I''-class was heavily influenced by the ''
Jeune École'' (Young School)
naval strategy
Naval strategy is the planning and conduct of war at sea, the naval equivalent of military strategy on land.
Naval strategy, and the related concept of maritime strategy, concerns the overall strategy for achieving victory at sea, including the ...
. The cruisers were intended to serve as the "
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
of the future" by Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (German: ''Marinekommandant'')
Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck, the ships were heavily criticized by officers and sailors alike in the Austro-Hungarian Navy, who labeled the ships, "Sterneck's sardine–boxes". Changes in technology and strategic thinking around the world rendered the design of the ''Kaiser Franz Joseph I''-class ships obsolete shortly after they were commissioned. Nevertheless, the ships remained an important component of Austro-Hungarian naval policy, which continued to emphasize the ''Jeune École'' doctrine and the importance of coastal defense and overseas missions to