The Brandenburg class battleships were the first blue water warships of the Kaiserliche Marine and can be categorized as the first German pre-dreadnought ships.

Imperial German Navy was founded in 1871 under the auspices of Kaiser Wilhem I. The German Navy was created around the small Prussian Navy. Initially the Germans ordered several obsolete ironclads. However, the new German Navy was only capable for coastal defense operations and could not be considered as an instrument for the WeltPolitik and for the projection of German power worldwide.

In 1888 the most modern ships of the German fleet were the six Siegfried class (3.400 tons) and two Odin class coastal defense ships. The new Kaiser Wilhem II the architect of the German Naval expansion, decided to challenge England's hegemony in the seas. As first step he established in 1888 the Imperial Naval Office (Reichmarineamt) a governmental agency monitoring the design, development and financing of the new fleet units. Under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Alexander von Monts, the Imperial Naval Office started to implement the naval visions of Kaiser Wilhem II.