 She was commissioned for sea trials on 28 September, with "Leutnant zur See" ("LzS"—Lieutenant at Sea) Heinrich Köhler as her first commander; the trials revealed that her engine was too weak to meet the design requirements, but no improvements were made.The ship entered active service in 1860; she was sent to the Mediterranean Sea to protect Prussian and German interests and evacuate civilians in the Italian Peninsula, then in the midst of the Second Italian War of Independence that led to the unification of Italy.The ship still had not received her intended armament, so she received a pair of guns that had been fitted to "Preussischer Adler" in 1848.