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Mülheim

Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (, ; ; ) and also described as "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western 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 was granted city rights in 1808, and a century later its population surpassed 100,000, officially making it a major city.

Geography

Mülheim an der Ruhr is located to the southwest of Essen in the Ruhr valley. The city consists of 19 districts, 14 of which are located on the right bank of the Ruhr and 5 on the left bank.

¹ Eppinghofen and Mellinghofen are part of the northern inner city (referred to as Altstadt II).

² The old name for Heimaterde in the land register is Fulerum.

³ officially referred to as Altstadt I.

Figures are estimates based on statistical data from 2025.

The city is divided into three administrative districts (Bezirke), six sub-areas (Teilräume) for planning purposes, and nine (official) districts and 28 statistical districts. There are 27 electoral districts for local elections.

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.

History

Mülheim was chartered in 1808. Between 1878 and 1929, Mülheim absorbed its neighboring towns, including Broich and Heissen. Later, during World War II, forced laborers of the 3rd SS construction brigade were dispatched in the town by the Nazis in 1943.

Transport

The U18 metro line connects the city with Essen.

The nearest airport is Düsseldorf Airport, located south west of Mülheim. Mülheim also shares an Airfield 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 14 September 2025, with a runoff held on 28 September. Following results are from 2020:

! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round |- ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Marc Buchholz | align=left| Christian Democratic Union | 16,479 | 25.4 | 27,716 | 56.9 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Monika Griefahn | align=left| Social Democratic Party | 16,385 | 25.3 | 20,984 | 43.1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Wilhelm Steitz | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens | 10,178 | 15.7 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Horst Bilo | align=left| Independent | 5,394 | 8.3 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Jürgen Abeln | align=left| Independent | 4,907 | 7.6 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Andreas Brings | align=left| Die PARTEI | 3,940 | 6.1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alexander von Wrese | align=left| Alternative for Germany | 3,920 | 6.0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Amrei Debatin | align=left| Free Democratic Party | 1,853 | 2.9 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Jochen Dirk Hartmann | align=left| Independent | 945 | 1.5 |- | | align=left| Martin Ulrich Fritz | align=left| Civic Awakening Mülheim | 808 | 1.2 |- ! 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 |- | colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer

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 ! ± |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 16,970 | 26.3 | 0.9 | 14 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 15,097 | 23.4 | 12.4 | 13 | 7 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 13,765 | 21.3 | 10.2 | 12 | 5 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 4,629 | 7.2 | 1.9 | 4 | 1 |- | | align=left| Mülheimer Citizens' Initiative (MBI) | 3,043 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 3 | 2 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 3,003 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 3 | ±0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Die PARTEI (PARTEI) | 2,866 | 4.4 | New | 2 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| The Left (Die Linke) | 1,751 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1 | 1 |- | | align=left| We From Mülheim (WIR) | 1,560 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1 | ±0 |- | | align=left| Civic Awakening Mülheim (BAMH) | 1,173 | 1.8 | New | 1 | New |- | colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | | align=left| Alliance for Education (BüfBi) | 424 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Independents | 226 | 0.4 | – | 0 | – |- ! 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 ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer

Education and research

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

Economy

Mülheim an der Ruhr has a longstanding industrial heritage as part of the Ruhrgebiet, historically focused on coal mining, steel, and chemicals. While heavy industry has declined, the city has shifted towards logistics, retail, scientific research, and high-value services.

Mülheim has developed as a local logistics and services center within North Rhine-Westphalia, supported by its proximity to Düsseldorf, Essen, and the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region’s transport infrastructure. The local economy includes a developed retail sector and elements of food distribution, along with growing activity in energy and environmental sciences, partly driven by the presence of research institutions such as the Max Planck Institutes and Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences.

Companies

  • Siemens Energy (founded 2020), an energy technology company, is the largest employer in Mülheim
  • Aldi Süd (founded 1946, split in two parts in 1960, renamed to Aldi Süd in 1962), a discount supermarket chain, has its corporate headquarters in Mülheim
  • PVS rhein-ruhr (founded in 1927) handles billing for the healthcare sector
  • Europipe GmbH (founded 1991), Europipe produces large seamless pipes for oil and gas pipelines, including Nord Stream
  • At ThyssenKrupp Presta, steering systems for the automotive industry are assembled
  • Harke Group, formerly Syntana (founded 1965), wholesaler for chemicals

Sports clubs

Twin towns – sister cities

Mülheim is twinned with:

Notable people

Gallery

See also

References

External links

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