Voivode Penyo Cherneolu

Penyo Cherneolu, known as Hvarkovatiya and Shipkaliyata, was a Bulgarian hajduk from the village of Shipka. His family originated in Dripchevo but moved to Shipka, where he was born. According to Tencho Totev Chernev, however, the voivode was born in the town of Chorlu. Penyo organised a detachment of four or five men in the 1840s and operated with it in various areas, including Sredna Gora, the Central Balkan Mountains, Sakar, Eastern Strandzha and even Edirne, Rodosto and Constantinople. He was known for his courage and sense of justice, distributing money taken from wealthy Turks to the poor so they could buy livestock and pay their taxes. In his early years, Hvarkovatiya taught hajduk skills to Filip Totyo. The voivode was nevertheless killed following a betrayal.

Penyo was born into a family that kept horses. The Turks seized their herd and killed his favourite stallion. After killing a police chief, Penyo commanded a band of robbers and took revenge on a Turk by dragging him behind an ox cart until he died. He hid in the Kazanlak region, where he became a hired labourer for a wealthy Turk, but after suffering humiliation and abuse, he took revenge by killing him. Penyo Voivode became difficult to capture, using different disguises and speaking Turkish to evade pursuit. Despite promises of a pardon, he returned to Shipka, where he gradually rebuilt his life.

After returning to his native village, Penyo built a house, but the Turkish authorities targeted him for assassination, bribing his builder to kill him. He escaped that attempt, but was later attacked and killed by a traitor in his home village.