The Bayern class were the last German battleships of the Hochseeflotte, only two of the four ships were completed during World War I. Construction started after a huge discussion about the main artillery for those ships ranging from 35,6 to 40 cm. The final design included eight 38 cm guns, the same size choosen for the newest British battleships (Queen Elizabeth class) although this was unknown at that time.

The general construction was based on the previous battleship class, the König class, and again it was planed to add a diesel engine to the ship to enhance their endurance. Since the problems of building powerful diesel engines were known from the previous battleships, only the last two ships of the Bayern class were planed to include the diesel engine, enabling them to operate ot only n the North Sea, but also in the North Atlantic.

Those ships are often seen as "unofficial" predecessors of the Bismarck class battleships of the Kriegsmarine and are best compared to the British Revenge class.

Bayern and Baden were commissioned during wartime, but both ships came too late for the battle of Jutland and did not see many actions during the war. Both were scuttled at Scapa Flow, and Baden was one of the few ships which could be saved before sinking and was sunk as a target ship in 1921. Construction of the Sachsen was stopped about 9 months before completion and was broken down in 1921. Würtemberg was 12 months away from completion when construction was stopped. The ship was also broken down in 1921.