 The ship was built by the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, laid down in 1912, launched in April 1914, and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in January 1915.She was named for the German town of Regensburg.The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns and had a top speed of , though in 1917 she was rearmed with seven 15 cm SK L/45 guns.