SMS Graudenz was the lead ship of her class of light cruisers. She had one sister ship, SMS Regensburg. The ship was built by the German Kaiserliche Marine in the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel, laid down in 1912 and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in August 1914, days after the outbreak of World War I. She was named for the then-German town of Graudenz. The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns and had a top speed of 27.5 knots.

The Graudenz class of light cruisers was a class of two ships built for the Imperial German Navy. The class comprised SMS Graudenz and SMS Regensburg. The ships both were laid down in 1912, launched in October 1913 and April 1914 and commissioned in August 1914 and January 1915, respectively. They were armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, though over the course of their careers, they were rearmed with seven more powerful 15 cm (5.9 in) guns. They displaced 6,382 t at full load and were rated at a top speed of 27.5 knots