Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr and also described as "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many companies, and two Max Planck Institutes. Mülheim an der Ruhr received its town charter in 1808, and 100 years later the population exceeded 100,000, making Mülheim officially a city. At the time of the city's 200th anniversary with approximately 170,000 residents, it was counted among the smaller cities of Germany.

Geography

Geographical location

Mülheim an der Ruhr is located to the southwest of Essen in the Ruhr valley.

Geology

The northern foothills of the Rhenish Massif are characterised by the distinctive rock formation of the bare mountain slopes through which run coal-bearing layers which formed during the carboniferous period. Here the Ruhr cuts more than 50 meters deep into this Mittelgebirge. This natural erosion partly uncovered these mineable black coal deposits, which enabled their exploration and extraction using adits. However, the coal-rich layers became ever deeper as one progressed northward, which required setting up mines to extract the black coal. In contrast, the broad bayou (dead arm of a river) of Styrum borough is characteristic of the features of the Lower Rhine Plain.

Transport

The U18 metro line connects the city with Essen.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Mülheim is Marc Buchholz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 64,809 ! 98.7 ! 48,700 ! 98.6 ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 879 ! 1.3 ! 679 ! 1.4 ! colspan=3| Total ! 65,688 ! 100.0 ! 49,379 ! 100.0 ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 130,571 ! 50.3 ! 130,561 ! 37.8

City council

The Mülheim city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 64,507 ! 98.3 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 1,144 ! 1.7 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 65,651 ! 100.0 ! ! 54 ! ±0 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 130,571 ! 50.3 ! 0.0 ! !

Twin towns – sister cities

Mülheim an der Ruhr is twinned with:

Education and research

Mülheim is home to two Max Planck Institutes, a university campus, and various other educational and scientific institutions.

Companies

Sports clubs

People

Gallery