SMS Kaiser Barbarossa with of armor plating, and the secondary casemates received of armor protection. Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Emperor of Germany, believed that a strong navy was necessary for the country to expand its influence outside continental Europe. As a result, he initiated a program of naval expansion in the late 1880s; the first battleships built under this program were the four "Brandenburg"-class ships. These were immediately followed by the five "Kaiser Friedrich III"-class battleships, of which "Kaiser Barbarossa" was a member. "Kaiser Barbarossa"s keel was laid down on 3 August 1898, at the Schichau-Werke in Danzig, under construction number 640. She
Kaiser Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, but the title of Kaiser was retained by the House of Habsburg, the head of which, beginning in 1804, bore the title of Emperor (Kaiser) of Austria. After 1438, the Habsburgers had provided most of Holy Roman Emperors, so they saw themselves as legitimate heirs to the title they adopted. Despite Habsburg ambitions however, the Austrian Empire could no longer claim to rule over most of Germany, although they did rule over large areas of lands inhabited by non-Germans in addition to Austria. There were four Kaisers of the Austrian Empire who all belonged to