This small patch of forest, was formally presented to Aarhus in 1395, by Queen Margaret I. Riis Skov was the first public forest in Denmark, where forests traditionally were owned and managed by the Royal family or the nobility and in some cases ordinary farmers. Timber and firewood were very important resources in former times, needed for shipbuilding, house construction and various other important structures, or simply for heating and cooking. Although Riis Skov was a public forest, there was still active forestry going on until around the year 1800, when the large oaks were cut and used for quay-building in the Aarhus harbour. A few of them are still left, as some of the oldest trees in the forest. The forestry aspect gradually diminished and Riis Skov was increasingly viewed as a recreational area by the citizens.
