Stefan Karadzha was born on May 11, 1840 in the village of Ichme (today Stefan Karadjovo), Yambol region. Materially impoverished, his family left Ichme in 1844 and settled in the nearby village of Dyukmen (today Leyarovo), Yambol region. Karadzha's parents lived there for only 2 years. In 1846, they stayed for a while in a village in Deliorman and in April 1847 they set off for Northern Dobrudzha, where they had relatives, who had moved after the war of 1828 - 1829.

The first village in Dobrudzha, where the Karadzha family stayed, was the village of Dolno Chamurlii, Babadashko, where they stayed until December 1847. Poverty, which had already become a constant companion of the family, forced Todor Dimov, the father, to become a village cattle herder, and his children to become cattle drivers. Driven by need, for the sake of their livelihood, Todor Dimov's family moved from village to village, without being able to make ends meet. After Dolno Chamurlii, they lived successively in the nearby villages: Beidaud, Saryurt, Potur, again in Dolno Chamurlii and finally, from June 1854. in the town of Tulcea. There, the father became a pasvantin, and Stefan his assistant. For a while, Karadzha also studied the shoemaker's trade with his son-in-law Nikola Stanchev. He studied in Tulcea, but due to lack of funds he dropped out of school. He defeated the famous Turkish wrestler Gaazi Plissa during a wedding. He went into hiding for a while, pursued by the Turks, and then emigrated to Romania in 1862. From then on, his revolutionary activities began.

Having heard about the Legion organized by Rakovski in Belgrade, Stefan Karadzha was one of the first to join it. In the battles that took place with the Turks in Belgrade, Karadzha displayed fearlessness, courage and selflessness. After the dissolution of the Legion, Stefan Karadzha returned to Romania, where he devoted himself entirely to the people's struggle. He crossed the Danube several times for revolutionary tasks. In 1867, he joined the Second Bulgarian Legion. In 1868, he left it and went to Romania. There he met Hadji Dimitar. On July 6, the two of them, at the head of a detachment of 129 people, crossed the Danube near the village of Vardim. In a battle in the Kanladere area near Vishovgrad, Stefan Karadzha was seriously wounded and captured by the police and troops sent by the Chairman of the State Council, Midhad Pashavoyski. Then, on July 12, he was taken to Tarnovo and later to Ruse. Half-dead, he was brought before an extraordinary court, called the criminal council, formed by Midhad Pasha, and sentenced to death by hanging. On July 31, 1868, he died of his wounds in the Ruse prison. He was buried by Grandma Tonka.