(ab)holen aus/von

[islandinthesun]

von
- Ich hole das Paket von der Post ab.
- Brot vom Bäcker holen (from duden.de)

aus
- Hol dir einen Stuhl aus dem Wohnzimmer.
- Wein aus dem Keller holen (from duden.de)

How do we know when to use ‘aus’ and when ‘von’ with holen or abholen? ‘Von’ seems to be used when talking about a public institution, like Bahnhof, Bäckerei, Flughafen und Post, while ‘aus’ is used for... other things?

 

[elroy]

"von" is about the institution, business, establishment, etc.; "aus" is about the physical location. Post offices and bakeries are types of establishments; living rooms and basements are not.

 

[islandinthesun]

Vielen Dank, elroy!

 

[JClaudeK]

- Brot vom Bäcker holen (from duden.de)

I find this example strange.

I would rather say "Brot beim Bäcker holen".
"Brot vom Bäcker" means for me "bread made and cooked by the baker" (= i.e. not in a supermarket)

cf.:
Frisches Brot gibt es günstig im Supermarkt und beim Discounter. Schmeckt es so gut wie teures Brot vom Bäcker?
Damit ist das Brot vom Bäcker doppelt so teuer wie mein selbst gebackenes Brot inklusive Stromkosten.

 

[διαφορετικός]

"aus" is more specialized (concrete) than "von" in these cases: "von" means origin, "aus" means a room as an origin.

von
- Ich hole das Paket von der Post ab.
- Brot vom Bäcker holen (from duden.de)

The idea of "abholen" isn't directly connected with a room from which the thing is extracted (which would justify "aus"), but rather with a person or organization. (But you could also say "... aus der Post ab", if "Post" means "Postgebäude".)
The "Bäcker" is not the room from where "Brot" is extracted, but the "Bäckerei" is. You can say: "Brot aus der Bäckerei holen."

aus
- Hol dir einen Stuhl aus dem Wohnzimmer.
- Wein aus dem Keller holen (from duden.de)

"vom Wohnzimmer" and "vom Keller" are also possible in these examples, but "aus" has a more concrete meaning, and it is preferred, maybe because it is more concrete.