"Bayern" was ordered by the Imperial Navy under the contract name "A," which denoted that the vessel was a new addition to the fleet. She was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid down in 1874 under yard number 3. The ship was launched on 13 May 1878 and was commissioned into the German fleet on 4 August 1881. Along with her three sisters, "Bayern" was the first large, armored warship built for the German navy that relied entirely on engines for propulsion. After her commissioning, "Bayern" was placed in reserve. She was not activated for service with the fleet until 1884; this in part had to do with the poor performance of her sister in the fleet maneuvers of 1880. Among the problems associated with the "Sachsen"-class ships was a tendency to roll dangerously due to their flat bottoms, which greatly reduced the accuracy of their guns. The ships were also poorly armored, compared to their contemporaries. In addition, they were slow and suffered from poor maneuverability. Nevertheless, "Bayern" and her three sisters served as I Division in the 1884 fleet maneuvers, under the command of Rear Admiral Alexander von Monts.