In the 16th century, Sedan Castle was a luxurious princely palace and a formidable fortress where gold crockery and tapestries stood alongside artillery. The castle is like an open book on the history of medieval fortifications. Its gigantic size and the thickness of its walls still bear witness to the role played by the Princes of Sedan on the political scene in France and in Europe. Sedan was a strategic location between France and the Holy Germanic Empire. The principality remained independent for two centuries before being ceded to France.