High temperatures, very high pressures and/or the presence of aggressive media cannot be covered by standard packaging methods, which only provide limited environmental stability. Ceramic technologies such as LTCC (Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic) and thick-film, on the other hand, offer easy manufacturability while achieving hermeticity / media isolation as well as outstanding chemical and thermal stability. This contribution will present several sensor and packaging applications of these technologies to devices which must perform under harsh conditions, as well as potential future developments