As armament, they were to receive eight 13 cm L / 55 quick-loading cannons and four 6.3 cm L / 38 guns. However, after their confiscation, they were equipped with eight 15 cm L / 45 rapid-loading cannons, four 5.2 cm L / 55 guns (later replaced by two 8.8 cm L / 45 guns) and two 50 cm guns. Decks equipped with torpedo tubes . In addition, 120 mines could be carried. With a length of approx. 135 meters and a maximum displacement of 5,252 tons, these ships were somewhat smaller than those of the Graudenz class , which were the newest German small cruisers at the time. In addition, the class had no waterline armor in the form of a belt, but only an arched armored deck that reached to the waterline. This made the class less stable than the German cruisers of the same age. However, the installation of four oil-fired water-tube boilers enabled both cruisers a larger range at high cruising speed than their German counterparts could achieve with only two oil boilers.
Externally, the Pillau class differed from the other cruiser classes of the Imperial Navy in terms of their stem and the type and position of their chimneys.
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