Yvette Vitesse

A roller coaster as heritage and museum piece? Why not! The beetle that pulled the legendary beetle track at the Bellewaerde amusement park in Ypres has been on display at the Yper Museum since 7 February 2023. It made its very last ride in November 2022. The Ypres Museum would not be the Ypres Museum if it had not immediately given the cute little car a name: Yvette Vitesse.

A roller coaster as heritage

The Ypres Museum is officially adding the car to its collection. As a steel roller coaster, the track was iconic for many generations of amusement park visitors. It is a vivid memory that represents a piece of Ypres' past. Bellewaerde is not only an attraction or tourist destination, but also an important employer in the region. The amusement park is part of the identity of the Westhoek. But just as important is that millions of people have enjoyed themselves there since the 1980s. That makes this roller coaster part of Ypres' heritage. The Ypres Museum will preserve and store the “pimpampoentje” for future generations.

The history of Yvette Vitesse

The roller coaster was built in the late 1970s by the German company Zierer and designed by the engineering firm Stengel GmbH. Stengel is a well-known German firm that specialises in roller coasters. The roller coaster is of the Tivoli type, named after the Tivoli Gardens in Denmark.

The roller coaster came to Bellewaerde in 1981 as one of the first attractions. Before that, Bellewaerde was mainly a zoo. Bellewaerde bought the “beetles” second-hand. From 1978 to 1980, the roller coaster was in a German amusement park.

The beetles ran daily during the season in Bellewaerde for 41 years. The attraction was accessible to anyone taller than 90 cm, did not go upside down, and ran two laps of the track with a total of 40 people per ride. The beetles reached a top speed of 36 km/h over a height of 8 metres. This made them easily accessible, even for younger children. More than 20 million people have taken a ride on the “pimpampoentjes”. In 2022, the attraction was one of the oldest active roller coasters in Belgium.

The disappearance of the beetle track is part of a larger transformation plan for Bellewaerde. In April 2024, a new, large water attraction called “Spinning Rapid” will open on the site of the old roller coaster.

The beetle track therefore made its last ride in the autumn of 2022. The cars will be recycled. The front car can be found in the Ypres Museum. Four cars were auctioned off publicly, raising €24,705 for the breast cancer organisation Think Pink. Five other cars were moved to sister park Walibi Rhône-Alpes and will serve as spare parts for a similar roller coaster. The last ten cars will be raffled off among Bellewaerde staff.

A heritage project with Bellewaerde employees

Yvette's donation immediately inspired a special heritage project in the amusement park itself: “Het Bewaren Waard” (Worth Keeping). During the spring, we will show our museum collection to the employees and ask them what they think of it. What do they consider to be the museum's showpiece and what do they think is worthless? But it also works the other way around.

The museum asks Bellewaerde staff what they consider “worth keeping” in their own living environment.

The Ypres Museum is making a documentary about these conversations, which we will show in the museum's entrance hall later this year. This form of participation aims to make people aware of the value of heritage. But it is just as important to strengthen ties and expand the museum's network as much as possible.