Moltke was the first member of the to be laid down; construction began in July 1875 under the contract name Ersatz at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig. Work proceeded more slowly on Moltke than her sister , since the government shipyards were not as experienced as the private builders like Norddeutsche Schiffbau AG that built Bismarck; Moltke proved to be the fourth member of the class to be launched and the class bore Bismarcks name rather than Moltkes as a result. At the launching ceremony for Moltke on 18 October 1877, Admiral Albrecht von Stosch christened the ship with the ship's namesake, Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Helmuth von Moltke, in attendance. Fitting-out work was completed by April 1878, and on the 16th she was commissioned for initial service. She was transferred to Kiel on 28–29 April, where her armament and other final pieces of equipment were installed. She began sea trials on 18 November, which were completed on 21 December.
