Starting in 1896, "Sachsen" was dry-docked at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel for an extensive modernization. The ship's entire propulsion system, including screws, boilers, and engines were replaced with new equipment. The single-expansion engines were replaced with compound engines that offered higher performance. Wood construction was replaced with steel and the vessel was lightened by . The four funnels were trunked into a single stack and a new conning tower was built, protected by nickel-steel. The secondary battery was also improved: the 8.7 cm guns were replaced with 8.8 cm SK L/30 quick-firing guns and the eight 3.7 cm machine guns were replaced with four newer models. On 1 May 1897, the ship was re-commissioned for trials, during which the ship reached .