 Stuttgart was ordered under the contract name "O" and was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig in 1905. She was launched on 22 September 1906, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 1 February 1908. The ship was 115.3 meters (378 ft) long overall and had a beam of 13.2 m (43 ft) and a draft of 5.29 m (17.4 ft) forward. She displaced 3,814 t (3,754 long tons; 4,204 short tons) at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two 3-cylinder triple expansion engines powered by eleven coal-fired Marine-type boilers. These provided a top speed of 24.1 knots (44.6 km / h; 27.7 mph) and a range of approximately 5,750 nautical miles (10,650 km; 6,620 mi) at 12 knots (22 km / h; 14 mph). Stuttgart had a crew of 14 officers and 308 enlisted men.
