SMS Emden ("His Majesty's Ship Emden") was the second and final member of the Dresden class of light cruisers built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). She was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Dockyard) in Danzig in 1906, was launched in May 1908, and completed in July 1909. She had one sister ship, Dresden. Like the preceding Königsberg-class cruisers, Emden was armed with ten guns and two torpedo tubes.