[3] 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.

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.

[5] The current mayor of Mülheim is Marc Buchholz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2020.