"Wettin" was long overall, with a beam of , and a draft of forward and aft. She displaced as designed and up to at full load. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws. Steam was provided by six Thornycroft boilers and six cylindrical boilers, all of which burned coal. "Wettin"s powerplant was rated at , which generated a top speed of . The ship could steam for at a cruising speed of . She had a crew of 30 officers and 650 enlisted men.