The three ships spent the 1870s laid up in Pola; budgetary issues prevented the ironclad fleet from being active. In 1881, "Prinz Eugen" was mobilized for the first time to take part in an international naval demonstration against the Ottoman Empire to force it to transfer the city of Ulcinj to Montenegro in accordance with the terms of the 1878 Congress of Berlin. In 1888, all three ships travelled to Barcelona, Spain, with several other major warships to take part in the opening ceremonies for the Barcelona Universal Exposition. This was the largest squadron of the Austro-Hungarian Navy that had operated outside the Adriatic up to that point. The three ships participated in fleet training exercises in June and July 1889.