Know more about New Vrindaban--The Palace of gold or America's Taj Mahal(watch pics)

New Delhi: New Vrindaban serves as an intentional living commune for Hare Krishna followers.It is an unincorporated community and ISKCON (Hare Krishna) intentional community located in Marshall County near Moundsville, West Virginia.The town consists of several building complexes, homes, apartment buildings, and businesses including the Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra Temple (RVC Temple) and the Palace of Gold.New Vrindaban was home to almost 400 permanent community members of all ages, though current population estimates measure only 100 residents. During its boom years, the untrained and unpaid devotees constructed the Palace of Gold, sometimes referred to as “America's Taj Mahal.” Though they hardly knew how to lay stones when they started, an estimated $600,000 worth of materials ranging from marble, onyx, teak, and 22-karat gold leaf were formed into the Palace as it appears today, complete with terraces, turrets, manicured lawns, and exquisite stained glass work. The structure stands as a memorial to the founder of ISKCON and opens its doors year round to visitors interested basking in its mirrored ceilings, polished mosaic floors, and beautiful vistas. The Palace is the jewel of New Vrindaban. At first it was to be a simple residence for Krishna's spiritual leader, Srila Prabhupada. But under the guidance of Keith Ham (a.k.a. Kirtanananda Swami) the humble house grew into a Palace fit for a raja. Prabhupada wanted New Vrindaban to become an attraction for pilgrims. Prabhupada, died two years before the the gold palace opened on September 2, 1979. See the bathroom he never used, the couch he never reclined on, the study he never occupied. Prabhupada nonetheless is here, in the form of several lifelike wax dummies that you might understandably confuse for a real, deep-in-thought holy man. Elephant, lion and sacred cow statues makes you feel like being transported to mystical India. Prabhupada's Palace of Gold is a place where you can see the beauty and mystique of the Far East without leaving America.