Jews may have lived in Rechnitz since the 15th century. From 1527 until 1861 they were under the rule of the Batthyánys. In 1649 they had a synagogue. A privilege from 1787 mentions 36 Jewish families who may trade in everything apart from meat and wine, elect their own judges and jury, build a house of prayer and schools and have a cemetery. The Jews of Rechnitz earned their living from trade and artisanery. In 1676, they supplied cloth for the uniforms of soldiers and servants of the Batthánys, red boots for foresters and haberdashery. Their main trading area was Hungary, Croatia and Styria. Jews also worked as farmers on leased land. In 1767 about 30% of Jewish families lived from agriculture.
In 1859 there were 850 Jews living in Rechnitz, most of them were merchants. An army unit based in Rechnitz favoured the economic development in Rechnitz. The important number of precious ritual objects owned by the community served as a proof of its relative prosperity. The community of Rechnitz parted from the orthodox western Hungarian Jewish communities and joined the Reform Movement. One of the leading personalities of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Meier Zipser, was the rabbi of Rechnitz from 1858 to 1869. As a result of adopting the Reform, German became the language of liturgy A school was founded in 1847 and used until 1920.
The number of Jews, who towards the 18th century made up more than half of the people living in Rechnitz, declined steadily. In the inter war period, the number of Jews steadily sank from 250 to 145 in 1932. The community could not afford to employ a rabbi after the last one died. The Kultusgemeinde (Jewish community organization) included Güns (apart from the town Güns/Köszeg, today in Hungary).
After the annexation of Austria, Nazi informants were planted into businesses run by Jews. Jewish men were arrested and in mid-April, the Jews of Rechnitz were herded together, loaded on busses and deported to Yugoslavia. They had to leave all possessions behind and could only take a small sum of money with them. A Jewish physician was allowed to stay until the summer.
Shortly before the end of the Second World War, 200 Jewish forced labourers who had been brought from Hungary in March 1945 were shot during a party of the local Nazi regime.
Among the rabbis of the community a special mention should be made of R. Kalir Eleazar; who was raised in the house of his grandfather, the famous Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt, in Eisenstadt. He went to the Jewish School in Eisenstadt. R. Kalir Eleazar was a rabbi in Amsterdam and Berlin, then during 1768-1778 was a rabbi, scholar, teacher and head of the yeshiva in Rechnitz. R. Kalir Eleazar was also the author of a number of rabbinical treatises.